Princess Tiki and Her Fresh Fish Prince
by secretcastle
Summary: During a trip to the Evans’ plantation, Troy gets cursed with a spell that leaves him “all wet and scaly.” Now it’s up to the pineapple princess Tiki to set him free before he ends up as somebody’s dinner. A TROYSHARPAY fairy fish tale.
1. The Spirit Brews

**Princess ****Tiki**** and Her Fresh Fish Prince**

_Summary: __During a trip to the Evans__'__ plantation, Troy gets cursed with a spell that leaves him "all wet and scaly." Now it's up to __the pineapple princess __Tiki__to set him free before he ends up as somebody's dinner. __A TROY__-SHAR__PAY fairy fish tale._

_Disclaimer: Again I don't own HSM, HSM2, or the song __Humuhumunukunuku__apua__. I just thought it deserves a background story since it's just so adorably cute and I'm disappointed that it wasn't part of HSM2._

**Chapter One: ****The Spirit Brews**

"We're almost there!" Ryan announced as the mini van rolled forward on the rough road flanked by trees and plants. Troy tuned out Ryan's narrative on how his parents bought this island and made their fortune here before they moved on to real estate and managing country clubs in the US mainland. He instead strained his eyes on his window. There was still nothing to see but lush foliage all around them and endless dirt road. But a few seconds later, the seemingly eternal cavern of green gave way to wide open scenery. It was the vastest field Troy had ever seen in real life. Rows upon rows of pineapples blossomed in the sun on the extensive plain and up the slopes of the hillsides surrounding it. And as the van moved forward, Troy glimpsed beyond the pineapple plantation sloping downwards on one side giving way to the sparkling crystal clear waters of the Pacific.

"Do you own the coast as well?" Troy asked. The view was growing more and more breathtaking by the second. He could now see the large rocks that appeared to be rising from the blue waters near the white sand beach. He could just imagine himself relaxing down there, allowing the surf to wash him over with Gabriella beside him. It was a nice romantic idea.

"Oh yes, we own that too, at least that part of the beach," answered Sharpay. "All the way up to the foot of Mt. Fufu." She pointed to the end of the beach where the coast and the pineapple rows abruptly ended to give way to an ugly jagged rocky mountain. It almost seemed like an aberration to the rest of the scenery. It was as bare as the hillsides surrounding it were lush. Yet it appeared to be lording over the rest of the valley and the sea below it.

"Mt. Fufu?" chuckled Chad. "Like that stupid volcano in your silly song during the school variety show at the end of term?" He laughed again.

Sharpay gave him a death glare and Chad stopped laughing. "It's not a stupid volcano and it's not a silly song at all. It happens to be based on a real local legend here."

"Oooh, legends? How interesting," piped Gabriella. "I'd like to hear about them."

"That would be a perfect thing to do during the bonfire tonight," said Ryan. "Right now, let's get you settled in."

The mini van finally stopped in front of a large house in the middle of the plantation. As soon as Troy stepped out of the van, the heady scent of pineapples invaded his nose, making his mouth water for the juicy fruit.

Ryan and Sharpay led the way inside the house. It had large windows to allow in the fresh mountain air coupled with sea breeze. But unlike the Evan's mansion and Lava Springs Country Club in Albuquerque, this one was rather minimalist in décor with a few island accents. Still, it looked as luxurious and comfortable as the other Evans' properties. Five locals in flowery island costumes carrying ukuleles greeted them at the spacious living room and began singing island songs while handling out fresh coconut juice still in their nuts. As he sipped his welcome drink, Troy couldn't help but feel a bit envious at the lavish luxury Sharpay and Ryan lived in. But he made a mental check at himself. He was tempted with luxury like this last summer and it almost cost him his girlfriend and his friends. He assured himself he would never trade what he had for this, even if it was nice once in a while.

The singers finished with a cheerful greeting of "Aloha!" Troy applauded them with the rest of his friends before it was halted with a cry from somewhere further inside the house:

"My little Tiki!"

Troy saw that it was a large native woman in a flowery dress. She looked to be in her 70s. She had graying hair and looked wrinkly. But she had a pleasant smile on her face as she hobbled unsteadily towards Sharpay.

"Mama Liat!" cried Sharpay as she hugged the older woman like a very dear old friend. She had a genuine expression on her face that was a rare thing to behold from Sharpay. He could see too that she was trying to blink back tears. Troy could tell this woman meant a lot to her. "Oh I've missed you so much!" Sharpay whispered.

"I missed you too, my child," the old woman openly cried. She pulled away to grasp Sharpay's face to stare at her. "How pretty you've grown… beautiful." She gently stroked Sharpay's cheek like a doting mother. "He smiles upon you, blessed one."

For a moment Troy thought he saw mild surprise form in Sharpay's face, but it was gone before he could observe further. He wondered what the old woman meant, but he figured it was probably some religious reference among these people.

Sharpay pulled away from the old woman and turned her towards her brother. "You remember Ryan?" she said.

"Of course," said the old woman as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Little Ryan, now such a handsome young man. She hugged Ryan and the Evan's male hugged her back though he did so rather awkwardly. They pulled away almost immediately and the woman turned back to Sharpay and took her arm.

"I've missed you so much my little Tiki!" the woman gushed affectionately at Sharpay. "It's been years!"

"Tiki?" Chad whispered to Troy and to Ryan on the side with an amused grin.

"It's her nickname for Sharpay since we were little kids," replied Ryan softly. "It's a long story."

"Everyone, this is Mama Liat!" cut in Sharpay. "She was our very first nanny from the day we were born on this island." One by one she introduced all her friends and the old woman only nodded to each in acknowledgement.

"And this one's Troy," Sharpay said when she got to him. Troy expected to just get a nod. But the old woman instead pulled away from Sharpay and approached him. She suddenly grasped at the side of his face and appeared to scrutinize him intently before she lit up in a smile.

"Ahh! He is your young man, my little one." She turned to stare intently at Troy. "The spirit blesses you, my son. You will make my Tiki very happy."

Troy suddenly felt very uncomfortable and he could see Sharpay blush slightly. "Oh, no, no Mama Liat!" she said. "Troy's my friend."

But the old woman smiled and the next words she said made him feel even more awkward: "He will be more. He is the one."

There was a long uncomfortable silence that was finally broken by Sharpay's nervous laughter. "Oh, Mama Liat, you say the silliest things." She hurriedly turned to Gabriella. "This is Troy's girlfriend, Gabriella."

Mama Liat turned to her and her smile faded. "Ahhh, maiden of little faith," she snapped at Gabriella before turning away towards the kitchen. They all watched her go out silently, puzzled at her sudden rudeness.

"You must forgive Mama Liat," said Ryan apologetically in particular to Gabriella. "She's old, she doesn't know what she says sometimes. But she means well." Ryan followed with an invitation for refreshments on the veranda outside and everyone else followed him. Troy however hung back a bit. He noticed Sharpay remained silent and was staring out the window, her gaze intent on the bare mountain.

"Sharpay… they've all gone outside now," he began.

She just nodded without looking up at him or removing her gaze from the mountain. "Go, I'll catch up," she said.

There was nothing more for Troy to do but follow Ryan and the rest. But before he lost sight of her completely, he noticed something fearful in her expression that he had never seen before. Somehow the idea of Sharpay being afraid when she never appeared to be afraid of anything in her life, unnerved him more than what that creepy nanny said about him.

* * *

The snacks served to them outside were excellent. After they were full on pineapples and fresh fruit juice, they were shown their rooms upstairs. Troy was sharing a room with Chad and Jason. It was fairly large with a nice veranda that had a view of the west side of the house, the plantation and Mt. Fufu. When Troy stepped out he could smell the fresh mountain air and the sweet pineapples. It was wonderful here and he thought how much fun it was to live here permanently one day instead of just for a week.

"Enjoying the view?" Gabriella spoke behind him. Troy turned around to greet her with a hug.

"It's a nicer view since you've come in," he flattered.

"You're rather romantic today," she replied as she kissed his cheek.

"I intend to all week. We need some catching up."

The final term of school before graduation had left both with very little time to spend with each other in between basketball practices, academic quizzes, drama practice and reviews for exams. In the last few months, Troy felt a lull in his relationship with Gabriella. As much as he loved her, there simply wasn't enough time to enjoy themselves alone. But they hanged on to each other and promised that as soon as other priorities were out of the way they could get back into their romance. When the Evans Twins who were by this time their friends, invited them along with Chad, Taylor, Jason, Zeke and Kelsi to a week's stay in their island vacation home, Troy thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally revitalize their relationship.

"It's nice of Sharpay and Ryan to invite us here," added Troy. "We're going to have a blast before we go off to college."

"Yeah, really nice of her just before college," Gabriella said unenthusiastically as she pulled away from him and he could sense she was upset about something.

"Hey, what's the matter? I thought you'd be excited to go to college."

Gabriella sighed. "I am, it's just that I'm going to be away from you. I'm going to California and you're on the other side of the coast… with… " she mumbled something unintelligible.

"With what?" he asked.

Gabriella shook her head and said nothing but her expression told him it was something worth badgering her about.

"With what Gab?" he asked gently.

She bit her lip. "With Sharpay," she said knowingly.

Troy was rather startled. It's been months since Gabriella mentioned any hint of jealousy towards Sharpay. He thought that was long gone by now. They appeared to be friendly enough after the Lava Springs incident.

"Gab, I'm not even going to be in the same school as she'll be going to."

"But you'll be in the same city and I'll be a time zone away," she argued.

"I'll call you every night. I probably won't even see her. Gabriella, she's just my friend. Our friend."

"She certainly wanted to be more than that with you last year."

He was startled at the rising tone of her voice. "That was last year. It's different now. She's different," he assured her.

"Is she really?" she challenged then shook her head. "I don't think so. I think the whole year she's just been putting on act to get into our good side!" She began pacing around on the veranda. "How could I have been so blind?! I actually believed her! All of us believed her!"

Troy was confused. "What are you talking about? Where is this coming from?"

She stopped pacing. "I just realized it when that woman said something about you and her. I think she planned that with her nanny just for dramatic effect. It's Lava Springs all over again! She's tempting you with all this!" She gestured to the plantation view. "Then she'll try to steal you away from me again!"

"W-what? Gab, I think that's really just… don't you think you're overreacting?"

"OVERREACTING!" she thundered in a way he had never heard her before. "Oh wake up Troy! Can't you see what she's doing? She's setting us up! All of us, just like last time. She's going to get into your good graces again so she can move on to you. Maybe not now, maybe not this week here. But when we get to college, she'll certainly have enough opportunity and I won't be there to stop it." She crossed her arms and faced away from him.

Troy put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Gabriella, that won't happen. Look, I don't believe Sharpay would do that again. But if she is, she's going to be disappointed." He gently turned her to face him and cupped her chin with his hand. "Because this week it's going to be about us. I promise."

He kissed her softly. But as his lips touched hers, he pulled back immediately. He felt the air around him tense. When he looked up, somehow the bright clear skies only a few moments ago disappeared to be replaced by gray clouds. A long shadow from Mt. Fufu draped the rows of ripening pineapples, dimming the entire field. And perhaps it was just his imagination, but somehow he heard the bare mountain in front of him give a rumble in protest.

_A/N: I just saw HSM2 last night __when it finally premiered in Asia. __I wrote this a few hours after. I was a bit disappointed that __Sharpay's__ and Ryan's fish song wasn't included in the movie when I've been listening to it constantly on the soundtrack. It's just so adorably __cute,__ I had to write a story about it. So tell me what you think so far._

_By the way, I got the name "__Liat__" from the musical __South__ Pacific. She was Bloody Mary's daughter. I just couldn't think of a Polynesian name so I just used hers._


	2. The Cave in the Lake

**Chapter Two: The Cave in the Lake**

Troy carefully treaded the mossy rock and pushed himself up with a bit of difficulty then offered his hand to Gabriella. "Watch that next step, it's a bit slippery," he warned.

She carefully treaded the mossy step and put weight on his hand as she pushed herself up with a huge effort. But finally she was standing next to him. She was huffing and puffing, and her hair hung in clumps due to sweat.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Her only response was to give him a withered look and he felt stupid for asking the question when the answer was obvious.

"How much further is this lake anyway?" complained Chad a few steps further below.

"Just a few more steps up!" shouted Sharpay who was leading the entire group several feet above Troy.

They had been climbing this side of Mt. Fufu for the last half hour. Earlier, after they rested for a bit in their rooms, Ryan and Sharpay offered them a tour of the island. They started on the beach where the twins showed them some interesting caves at the foot of the mountain where the sand and rock met. Everyone was all set to go swimming in the ocean but Sharpay said that there was a better place to get wet. Up the mountain, there was a fresh water lake that Sharpay insisted was too beautiful to pass up. Everyone was feeling adventurous so they all agreed. Of course, they didn't realize that it meant climbing a small slippery path for more than half an hour just to get there.

Troy couldn't complain really. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. Difficult the path was, it was undeniably beautiful with its lush vegetation and abundance of wild flowers. And the higher they climbed, the more scenic the view became. He felt somehow at home in this mountain. He liked the exercise as well. Climbing this mountain path was a piece of cake considering how much workout he got from his father back home. The others, however, couldn't agree with him. They looked like they were about to collapse. Only Sharpay didn't appear to be breaking into a sweat. She climbed the path so fast it was as if she knew every inch of it and can easily avoid all the slippery rocks. He never expected her as the outdoors type who knew how to climb mountain slopes.

"Yeah, just a few more steps up and then about fifty more going down!" Ryan added with a bit of sarcasm.

"Down?!" Zeke cried incredulously. "I thought we were climbing up to the lake?"

"Yes we are," said Sharpay as if it was a dumb question. "Then we have to go down a bit to get to the lake. It's a crater."

"Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!" shouted Chad nervously. "Did you just say crater? As in a volcano's crater?"

"Yes, Mt. Fufu happens to be a volcano, duh!" replied Sharpay. "The lake just happens to be one of its many craters."

"If it's a crater then it's hot! We're going to go swimming in a crater of lava!" cried Chad.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at him. "Taylor, you're the smart girl. Kindly enlighten your boyfriend about dormant volcanoes and natural bodies of water that form in them."

Troy couldn't help but snicker at Chad as Taylor launched a lecture about natural lakes that form through the craters of volcanoes. Troy tuned her out as she tended to drone on and on like their history teacher. He was far more interested in the history of the mountain that Sharpay could tell him.

"So how long has the volcano been dormant?" he asked.

Sharpay shrugged as she continued climbing. "A couple of decades. Probably a century or two. Nobody knows for sure. All I've heard of its erupting are just legends."

She disappeared from his view, as she went ahead and was finally hidden behind the lush plants. But a moment later her voice carried over.

"Troy, go on single file. The path gets narrower. Climb up first, I'll help you and then we'll help Gabriella and the rest."

Troy didn't need to be told. The path indeed became too narrow for two people to walk side by side without hurting themselves on the branches.

"I'll go ahead," he said to Gabriella. She nodded. She appeared to be only too glad to rest a bit.

Troy managed to climb the narrow path easily enough. He saw Sharpay standing in a clearing above him and she reached a hand to him to guide him away from a tricky path that was covered with thick bushes. When he finally came up beside her he realized that they were standing on the edge of the wooded area of the mountain. Above them the forest had disappeared completely and there was nothing but bare rock. But what arrested Troy was the view. From here, he could see the magnificent forests that ended with sand and the beach below. Then onwards the glittering sea revealed itself in its glorious splendor under the afternoon sun.

"Wow!" was the only thing Troy could say.

"Beautiful isn't it?" said Sharpay. "Now wasn't that worth the climb?"

"Yeah!" Troy agreed. He was too busy drinking in all these sights.

"This is the highest point of the mountain I've ever been to. It's too dangerous to climb further since it's all rock and sandstone from here up. You have to be an expert rock climber to do that." She pointed to the wall of bare mountain behind them. "The volcano's main crater is up there. I've never really seen it. There are smaller craters on the side of the mountain. The lake's just one of them. It got filled up with rainwater through the years. Now come here, I want to show you the best part."

She led the way a few feet to the side and he saw that there was another path going down. His eyes followed it and saw that it ended at a magnificent green lake hidden between interesting rock formations and copses of trees and vines. His mouth fell open at the beauty of it all.

"That's the lake?" he uttered.

"Uh huh," she replied, without removing her gaze from the lake. He noticed that she too seemed to drink at the marvel before her even if she had seen it before. "I've spent so much of my childhood here. It's been years since I've seen it again. I missed it a lot."

"Well I'll definitely miss this when I come back home. It's wonderful."

"You think so?" asked Sharpay lightly. She sounded oddly different, so different from the annoying, stuck up person he knew her. It was as if she was showing a quieter side of her he hadn't seen before. "Ryan doesn't. He doesn't really understand why I like going here. He says it's too much work climbing up and there's nothing to see but an old lake full of moss and rocks."

"I think it's magnificent," said Troy. "I'd like to go here just to hide out from the world."

She finally turned to him and beamed. "You know my secret hideout's there in the lake. I'll show you if you want. But only if you're brave enough."

"Brave enough for what?" he asked.

She was about to answer when they heard Gabriella shout: "Troy! Where are you?"

Troy suddenly remembered he left Gabriella at the other side of the path. He hurriedly went back and offered her a hand up the same way Sharpay guided him. When she got to the clearing on top she sat on a boulder and breathed heavily.

"What took you so long?" she asked. Troy couldn't help but notice that there was a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Nothing, I was just enjoying the view from here," he assured her. "Come on," he took her arm. "You've got to see this."

But Gabriella refused to budge from her seat and said she needed rest. Soon the rest of their friends had managed to come up. Troy tried to get them to enjoy the view, but like Gabriella, they just gave sat down and begged for rest. Only Taylor seemed mildly interested in the view and the natural landscape which she continued to discuss in scientific terms. She appeared to have been re-energized by giving her lecture and she continued to talk a mile a minute. It was starting to drone on Troy's ears and he realized he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Chad, make her stop!" Troy heard Jason whisper to his best friend.

Chad gave them a lost look. Sharpay seemed to have overheard them as well and whispered something to Chad. He shook his head at her.

"I can't do that. You know how she is about public displays."

"If she complains tell her, you couldn't resist her with this view," she said. "It's too romantic."

Chad continued to shake his head. "That won't work. This is really your fault for getting her started," he accused.

"Fine then, I'll do it for you," said Sharpay. She approached Taylor and Chad looked horrified.

"Oh no, you won't!" said Chad. Suddenly, he pulled at Sharpay and flung her almost violently that she lost her balance. Troy made it in time to catch her by the arms. She leaned on him for support and to his surprise she giggled.

"What did you tell Chad?" he asked curiously.

She didn't have time to answer. They were distracted by Chad who seized Taylor by the arms and effectively stopped her boring lecture by kissing her fully in the mouth. Her eyes bulged in shock and for a second or two she tried to push him away. But Chad deepened his kiss and soon Taylor was kissing him back. Jason, Zeke, Ryan and Kelsi began making catcalls and they broke apart, blushing and out of breath.

Troy suddenly realized what Sharpay said to Chad and he began to laugh at her creativity. "You're amazing!" he exclaimed at her. "I've never been able to convince him to do that." Chad often complained to him that since the start of their relationship he hasn't found a way to convince Taylor to let him kiss her in public. Chad would droan on and on to Troy about it but he never made a move to his girlfriend to remedy it. Troy was just relieved that now Chad can stop complaining to him.

"I'm the best Bolton," she said as she pulled away from him. He didn't realize he was still holding on to her the whole time that Chad and Taylor were having an instant make out session.

He made his way over to Chad and they exchanged one of their secret high-fives. He turned around to get back to Gabriella but he noticed her scowling at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head and said nothing. Taylor came up beside her so Gabriella focused on her instead of him. Troy let her go and fell a step behind them with Chad right behind him, looking a bit giddy. Sharpay began to lead them again, this time down the path towards the lake.

They reached it in only a few minutes. Sharpay was the first one to jump in and Troy didn't hesitate to become the second. The rest however, at Gabriella's precaution, donned the life vests they brought along. For as Ryan warned, nobody knows how deep the water of the lake is and they couldn't risk any accidents. Troy was a pretty good swimmer and he felt like living a little so he went without like Sharpay. He dove under and discovered that the lake was indeed deep and he couldn't fathom how far it went as it was quite dark underwater. He resurfaced and went back to Gabriella.

"Come on, I'll race you to the edge of the lake," he offered as he pointed towards the other end that was bordered with some interesting rock formations covered with moss and vines.

She shook her head. "I don't know Troy," she said. "I think it's best if we stick to this side where the water's shallower. It could be dangerous there."

"But nothing you can't handle," Troy urged. "Come on, you're a pretty good swimmer. You were a life guard last year."

"In a clear pool Troy," she replied. "Not this. I can't see the bottom. Besides, the moss creeps me out."

Troy felt a bit disappointed. He was really curious to see those natural wonders. Earlier in their hike Sharpay already showed them some caverns by the beach at the foot of the mountain. He wanted to see more of what the mountain offered here. He was particularly envious of Sharpay who was swimming towards the other end of the lake alone. She was a good swimmer, he could tell and she seemed to be able to hold her breath for quite a long time.

Still he stuck next to Gabriella near the rocks as she wanted and tried to enjoy himself with her as much as possible. Everyone else seemed to think the same thing. Even Chad and Zeke only dared to go a few meters away from the safety of the rocks and never bothered exploring the lake further.

"Hey tell us something more about the mountain's legends," Taylor said Ryan when they were all tired of lounging about.

"Yeah, what about the Tiki thing?" asked Zeke.

Ryan laughed as he sat down on a smooth rock and stretched himself. "I think I'll reserve that one for Sharpay to tell later. That's her favorite story because it's so girly and ickily romantic among all the legends!"

"What's your favorite then?" asked Gabriella.

"Okay," said Ryan as he sat up. Everyone but Sharpay huddled around him. She was still out in the middle of the lake somewhere being anti-social. "My favorite would have to be the wishing shrine of Mt. Fufu."

"Wishing shrine?" asked Jason. "Like a temple?"

"Not exactly," Ryan shook his head. "You see according to the legend, somewhere in the mountain is a sacred place that's so well hidden it's almost impossible to find. But when you get there, you are granted one wish from Fufu and he will grant it as long as it is within his power to grant."

"What exactly is in his power to grant?" asked Kelsi.

"Well he has limitations," continued Ryan. "You know he'll send to you the love of your life or he can turn your enemy into some weird creature. But he can't kill or make anyone disappear. The most he can do is to transform you into something else."

"Like the fish in Sharpay's Tiki song?" asked Troy.

"Yeah, something like that," said Ryan. "But there's more to just wishing. According to the legend, every single wish Fufu grants carries a curse, either to the person who wished it or to the person involved in the wish. So say, you ask him to bring you your true love, you'll get her but not in the way you expect. She could come to you as a monster so both you and that poor girl will have to suffer in the end."

"I think it's a morality tale," said Taylor. "You know, careful what you wish for, you might just get it."

"So did you ever try finding that place?" asked Zeke.

Ryan shook his head. "Nope. It doesn't really exists, it's all just rubbish stories for kids. But the natives here still believe it, especially Mama Liat. She's the one that told us about it. She even told us my older sister found the shrine before."

"You mean Sharpay?" asked Chad.

"No, not Sharpay. We have an older sister. She was six years older than me and Sharpay. She died when she was only ten. She had a heart disease and her life was timed since she was diagnosed when she was seven. I was only four so I don't remember her much. But she loved swimming and was so fascinated with fish. Mama Liat said she wanted more than anything to be able to talk to fish. So that's what she wished for."

"Did she get her wish?" asked Jason.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Duh! It's a legend!"

"But it involves your sister," pointed Jason.

"Yeah right," dismissed Ryan. "And if I believed that then I'd believe all the stories of the staff here that the lake is full of people who found the wishing shrine and turned into monsters that feed on visitors who go swimming in the lake."

"It's just a myth, Jason," said Chad. "Don't be so gullible—" He stopped all of a sudden and squeaked like a girl. "There's something in the water!" he cried.

"It's probably just a twig," said Taylor.

"No, it touched my leg and it moved," Chad said.

"A fish then," Kelsi dismissed but Chad was moving towards a boulder. But before he could reach it, he gasped again. "There it is again, it pulled at my leg."

This time Zeke, Taylor, Jason, Ryan and Kelsi all scrambled out of the water as well. Gabriella too squirmed away from Troy's grasp to move towards a rock.

But they haven't gone far when suddenly Chad was pulled under.

"Chad!" Taylor screamed though at the same time, she was also climbing up the rock as fast as she could.

Troy quickly swam to where Chad disappeared. But then Chad suddenly reappeared and he wasn't alone. Sharpay's head bobbled up after him and she was laughing hard.

"What's the matter Chad? Afraid of the monsters of Lake Fufu?" she taunted between giggles.

Chad coughed and gasped for breath before shouting back: "That was not funny!"

"It was when you screamed," said Sharpay.

Troy couldn't help but chuckle at the memory which earned him a glare from his best friend.

"Come on, I'll show you guys something at the other end of the lake," offered Sharpay. "There's another cave there I'd like you to see." She pointed at the rock formations at the end that Troy had been admiring before then nodded to him. He realized that was the secret hideout she was talking about earlier.

"No way, I'm going all the way there," said Chad. The others echoed his sentiments.

"Oh come on, you guys are no fun," said Sharpay. "Gabriella, come with me. You can swim pretty well."

But Gabriella shook her head and said that she preferred to stay here.

Sharpay turned to her brother. "Ry, we practically grew up here. It's about time you see my cave."

"It's creepy going there!" Ryan exclaimed. "You have to go underwater and it's all dark. Heaven knows what kind of vermin thrive in there."

"How would you know? You've never been there," retorted Sharpay.

"And I prefer it to stay that way," said Ryan firmly.

"No one's brave enough?" Sharpay challenged as she stared at all of them. She finally settled on Troy. "Troy? You wanna see it?"

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. He was curious about this cave of hers, especially with an underwater entrance. He read about them in adventure books when he was young but he had never been to one before.

"Come on then," Sharpay said as she swam towards the edge. He made a move to follow her but then:

"Troy!" Gabriella warned.

"What?" he asked.

She swam next to him and lowered her voice. "You're going alone with Sharpay?"

"So?" he said before he realized what she was hinting at. "It's just a cave. I just want to see it."

"Alone with her?"

He thought she was being ridiculous but he kept his voice casual. "Come with me then."

She stared at the rocks where Sharpay was headed but then shook her head. "No, I don't want to," she said firmly. "Just stay here. It might be dangerous."

Troy sighed. He knew that last line was just an excuse. She hated that she didn't trust him. He felt annoyed at her petty jealousy over nothing. Besides, he was dying of curiosity to explore the cave and he didn't want to pass up this chance. He decided to just defy her. "Look, ten minutes. That's all. I just want to see it." And he took off swimming after Sharpay before Gabriella could utter another word.

He managed to catch up with Sharpay and they reached the edge of the lake. They paused to admire the rocks that appeared like grotesque creatures rising from the water dressed in vines and thick mosses.

"The cave's entrance is under here. You have to dive down and go under the rock. It's pitch dark under so you won't be able to see anything but I'll lead you."

"But how will we see anything once inside the cave?" he asked.

"You'll see," she said and he knew he just had to trust her word on it. He took a deep gulp of air and dived down. He felt Sharpay take his hand urging him to go deeper until it was totally dark. For a moment he felt afraid and he was ready to resurface. But Sharpay pulled hard at him and he swam forward. He felt a rock under him and they passed it quickly. And then Sharpay was pulling him upwards and he kicked until his head pushed through the surface. He quickly took in his surroundings. He was indeed inside a large cave. It was quite dim here, but there was light. And then he realized that the roof the cave had a few holes in it where slivers of sunlight entered like beams. It was enough to light up the cave for them to see his surroundings. There was another pile of boulders rising on one edge and he saw Sharpay swim towards it and pull herself on top. She stood directly upon a beam of light so that he could see her face clearly.

"So how do you like my hiding place?" she asked.

Troy swam towards her and pulled himself to stand next to her. "Amazing," he said. "Is the underground entrance the only entrance?"

"Yup, the one and only," said Sharpay. "Unless this caves in," she indicated the roof of the cave. "But it won't. It's solid rock."

"How did you find this?" he asked.

Sharpay hesitated before replying. "I didn't. A friend showed it to me when I was little and I often come here. This is the first time another person has come here with me."

Troy thought her two statements were rather contradictory. How can he be the first person to come here with her when a friend already showed it to her? But she went on talking and he dismissed the thought.

"I've been trying to show Ryan but he always chickens out at the moment we dive into the dark part of the water."

"And you're not afraid?" he asked, rather impressed. She always thought Sharpay was too girly to even endure a scary trip under that dark water. "I mean going here alone, you can't even see the way to the entrance."

"I'm never alone—" she uttered before she abruptly stopped. And for a split second he thought he saw her looked fearful as if she let slip something she shouldn't.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No, I mean I just know my way around the cave so much, that's all," she said hurriedly and Troy couldn't help but feel that that line was a quick lie.

"So who's your friend? Does he or she still live on the island?" he asked. He hadn't seen any other people their age. All he has met so far are just the plantation staff and they were mostly older.

Sharpay didn't look at him. She stared up at the beam of sunlight and a sad look crossed her face. "It died," she said simply.

Troy thought that was rather strange for her to refer to her friend as an "It."

"Oh sorry then," he said rather awkwardly.

She remained silent under the beam of light as if she was drinking it in. A content smile lit her face. Troy felt strange seeing her like this. It was so different from the haughty, calculating Sharpay he knew that always seemed to wear a mask. Here, there was something so childlike about her. It was as if she was a different person.

For a long moment he stood silently watching her in fascination. He marveled at how this place seemed to magically transform the ice queen into this innocent girl. He too felt at peace here. It was as if was being sheltered by some unknown force.

Slowly she raised her arms above her head, her face still to the sunlight and uttered something he couldn't understand.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a bit unnerved by her.

She slowly turned back to face him and giggled innocently. "It's an old habit I couldn't get rid off. Just a greeting to Fufu."

"The mountain?" he asked. He was rather intrigued that worldly Sharpay was one to pay respects to a mountain.

"The spirit of the mountain," she explained. "When I was a little girl Mama Liat told me the spirit was my friend and that I should always pay my respects. She said I was blessed and that he would give me anything I desired. It's just a silly childhood belief," she added awkwardly as if she was embarrassed.

"Hey, I think it's cool we all have these beliefs as a child. It's like believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Childhood wouldn't be as fun if we didn't believe in them."

She smiled wistfully. "You're right. You know this used to be the place where I talk to Fufu," she laughed slightly and it sounded like a tinkling bell inside the cave that was pleasant to hear. "You wouldn't believe the silly things I used to do here with my friends."

There it was again: another contradictory statement. 'Friends'—meaning plural when she said he was the first one here with her. Yet he couldn't help but feel that she wasn't lying. "Like what?" he asked.

He was startled when she blushed and his curiosity was peaked. "Things like what?" he repeated.

She didn't dare look at him. "Okay, I've got a confession. When I was about nine, I asked Fufu to send me a prince. It's silly I know, and I even made an offering for it, and…" she paused and blushed again before continuing. "I used your hair."

"Huh?" Troy asked, confused.

"I stole a bit of your hair before the end of the school year in fourth grade. Do you remember that?"

He remembered that. She was sitting behind him in Math class one day when he felt something touch his head. And the next moment Chad shouted that Sharpay cut off his hair. He quickly felt at the back of his head and felt his hair uneven where she had cut it with a pair of scissors. He thought she did it just to be mean. Chad retaliated by cutting off of her braid during lunch. But instead of getting angry at him, she merely put her mutilated hair in her bag.

"Oh yeah, I remembered. You gave me a bald spot and I had to wear a hat the rest of the day. Chad bullied Ryan to give his to me. I had to have a haircut the next day."

She laughed again and it sounded pleasant to his ears. "Well I bound your hair to mine—the one Chad cut off. And when I came here for the summer I used it as an offering to Fufu so he'd make you my prince." She blushed again. "I really liked you then…"

Troy knew she still did. And he suddenly felt uncomfortable being alone here with her. He fingered with the necklace with a G-pendant hanging around his neck. Gabriella gave it to him at the end of the summer last year to match the one he gave her. It reminded him of her and he felt guilty all of sudden for taking off the way he did now. "I think we better go back now," he said.

"You're right," she said. "Gabriella's probably worried."

They plunged back into the water together. But Sharpay went under quicker and he could hear her making weird noises under water.

"Sharpay, wait for me!" he called out. She resurfaced next to him and took his hand.

"Ready?" she asked.

He nodded as he offered his hand to hers. He took a gulp of air and went under. Sharpay pulled at him and this time, he no longer felt afraid as they plummeted in the dark water and under the rocks. They surfaced in the bright sunlight outside.

"Thanks a lot Sharpay. I really appreciate it," he told her.

"You're welcome. Race you back?"

She didn't even wait for his consent but dove forward again. Troy hurriedly swam to catch up but she got back to the other end first.

"How was it?" asked Zeke.

"It was amazing!" said Troy. "You dive under a rock and you come up to this cave at the other side. You've got to see it!"

"Yeah, right, when we want to get scared out of our lives in those murky waters," remarked Ryan. "Or maybe bump our heads on those rocks."

That convinced the others to beg off.

"Well we better be getting back anyway," said Ryan. "It will be dark soon and it's going to be hard going up that hill and back down again."

Everyone else agreed and began to get out of the water. Troy turned to Gabriella, who eyed him angrily.

"Enjoyed your adventure with her?" she hissed at him.

"Gab, it's nothing. She just showed me a cave. That's all." He took her hand in an effort to pacify her and she seemed to accept it. He helped her climb up the rocks back to the path. But he paused as Ryan shouted down.

"Shar! We're getting back now."

Troy turned around and saw that Sharpay was still in the lake. She was treading in it while staring at the water as if looking for something underneath. He could see her lips moving though he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Shar!" Ryan called again.

"I'll follow!" she shouted back at her brother. "I just need to say goodbye." She dove under the water again.

"Weird," Gabriella muttered and tugged at Troy but he didn't want to leave Sharpay behind.

"Will she be alright there alone?" he asked Ryan. "Maybe we should wait for her."

Gabriella shot him a dirty look.

"She'll be fine. She knows her way back," assured Ryan before turning around and leading the rest back up the slope.

"Come on Troy," Gabriella tugged at his arm and Troy reluctantly had to follow her up. But he cast one last glance at the lake and he caught one final glimpse of Sharpay's head bobbing up the water to catch breath before she disappeared again under the dark waters.

* * *

_A/N: This is turning out to be so different from the HSM __fics__ I've written before. I originally set it out to be light comedy but as I thought about __how __the plot__ would go in my head__, it just got darker__ and darker__So I have to call this a dark comedy with a bit of drama__, fantasy__ and some mystery. _

_My description of the lake is based on a real lake that I've been to. It's a lake that's located in__side__ a mountain and you have to climb up before you go down to reach it. Its depth has never been calculated as it's really pitch dark underneath. I actually almost drowned in it (on my birthday too) when the strap of my life vest broke. Believe me, it's scary to plunge underneath and not see anything. __The __hidden __cave though, is just product of my imagination._


	3. Fish are Friends Not Food

**Chapter Three: Fish are Friends, Not Food**

Troy helped Chad, Zeke and Jason pull dry coconut branches on the flames before Ryan came over to stoke it up. The result was a healthy blaze of fire that provided extra warmth from the cold sea air. After a sumptuous dinner that night, they all went down to the beach and set up a bonfire to share stories as Ryan promised. They had already gone through a few urban legends and their flame had already died down slightly until they replenished the wood of the fire.

"That's much better," said Ryan as he settled back down into his blanket beside Sharpay. Troy sat back in his usual space next to Gabriella. She lay her head on Troy's shoulder, though not before—he noticed—that she eyed Sharpay carefully to see if she was watching them. But Sharpay was busy playing the ukulele and singing a merry tune with Ryan. Troy noticed that she was quite good with the instrument and her utterance of the local language was quite convincing as if she were a native of these islands.

After a final rousing song, Sharpay put down the ukulele and Ryan announced that it would be nice to tell stories again.

"How about some more local legends," suggested Taylor who was now snuggling comfortably with Chad.

Ryan nodded. "I think Sharpay should tell one this time. Your favorite, Sis? Princess Tiki?"

Chad chuckled again at the name and Sharpay glared at him.

"What?" he asked innocently. "It's a funny name. I heard it was yours," he teased.

This time Sharpay arched an eyebrow at her brother.

"I told them it was your nickname," Ryan cowered at her. "Mama Liat said it first anyway," he reasoned.

"How about the legend of how you became Princess Tiki," Chad continued to laugh. "I'd like to hear about that first."

Sharpay glared at him again and this time it effectively shut Chad up. Ryan appeared to sense the tension and proceeded to break it up. "Well, the reason Mama Liat calls Sharpay "Tiki" is because when we were kids she was fond of the legend of the Princess Tiki. Mama Liat used to tell us lots of legends about the island and Sharpay insisted on her telling that story every night before we go to bed."

"Well it was a nice story," Sharpay protested. "It was very romantic."

"Yeah, so nice she wrote that song last year about it and made me perform it during the school's talent show when we couldn't perform it at the Country Club because she quit on me!" Ryan replied sarcastically.

"Well you had your revenge didn't you?" Sharpay bit back.

Ryan was about to retort something else when Kelsi interrupted by begging for Sharpay to tell her story. Troy was secretly relieved. He wasn't up for another one of the Evans twins' arguments. They were having that a lot since the end of the summer last year. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Ryan no longer let his sister push him around. Troy supposed it had a positive effect too. Sharpay was a lot nicer to everyone else and was eventually accepted as part of the gang, even if she still frightened the hell out of the rest of the school once in a while.

"Go on Sharpay, tell us," Taylor further urged. This seemed to please Sharpay enough. Taylor somehow became the one person Sharpay liked best among all the girls in school since Taylor—unlike Kelsi who was a complete push over and Gabriella who was just naturally sweet—also had a mean streak when she wanted it. It was something Sharpay could relate to.

"Well it's just like what we sang in the song," said Sharpay. "There was once a pineapple princess named Tiki who has the ability to talk to fish. And she was in love with this prince—"

"Who happens to be a fish?" interrupted Jason who laughed. "That's really romantic. They're perfect for each other."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, I'm shutting up," he mumbled fearfully.

"Well anyway," continued Sharpay. "Prince Humuhumunukunukuapua—

"Wow! She can actually say that in one breath," Chad whispered to Troy. "Imagine saying your lover's name and it's that long. It will take you forever to say I love you."

Troy sniggered and it earned them another glare from Sharpay. Troy gave her an apologetic look and nodded to her to continue the story.

"As I was saying, the prince was really a human. Princess Tiki loved him but he spurned her love for another maiden and he was set to marry this other girl. On the day of his intended wedding at the start of the full moon, Princess Tiki came crying to her guardian, Fufu."

"Wait! She came crying to the mountain?" asked Chad.

"No, dummy," Sharpay spat. "Fufu is the spirit god who lives on the mountain. And if I get another interruption, I'm not going to finish the story!"

"Okay, chill. I'm shutting up now!" Chad said as Taylor jabbed him on the ribs to urge him to stop interrupting.

Sharpay gave him one last harsh look before continuing. "Fufu took pity on Tiki and grew angry at the prince. To prevent him from marrying the other maiden, he cursed the prince and turned him into a fish. His only chance to become human again was to be kissed by his true love before the end of the full moon. Since Tiki has the power to talk to fish, the prince asked for her help. She sought to return him to his human form by asking his affianced maiden to kiss him. But the other girl refused to even touch him when she saw that he was a fish. In the end it was Princess Tiki who kissed him on a dark stormy night and returned him to human form. It made him realize that Tiki was his true love after all. He married her and they lived off the land under the watchful gaze of the spirit of Mt. Fufu."

"That's it?" said Chad. "He turns into a fish and gets kissed so he can be a prince again? It sounds like rip off from the story of the Frog Prince, only… ugh! Who wants to kiss a fish?"

"Well maybe someone as weird as someone who can actually talk to fish," laughed Jason. He made an imitation of Sharpay's fish talk in the song. Everyone else but Sharpay laughed. In fact Troy noticed Sharpay was looking rather hurt and he abruptly stopped chuckling with the rest, though he appeared to be the only one who did.

"No, it's not like that. It's more like this," said Ryan and he made odd fish talk noises even more ridiculous than Jason's imitation that set the whole lot of them laughing even harder. "Am I right, Sis?" he said mirthfully.

"Ryan!" said Sharpay sharply like a hint of a warning. But apparently Ryan didn't seem to understand it and went on.

"Ryan!" Sharpay said again.

"Oh wasn't I pronouncing it right?" Ryan continued to tease. "She always says my accent is horrible and I mix up the fresh fish with the salt-water fish dialects." That last line produced giggles from everyone. As much as the joke was funny, Troy couldn't laugh. He was too intent on noticing that Sharpay only looked insulted by it. She finally stood up and glared at her brother.

"I HATE YOU!!!"

Her thundering voice silenced everyone and Ryan finally looked fearfully at her.

"Look, Shar, it's just a joke. Come on," he said lightly as if trying to pacify her. "It's like we used to when we were kids and you pretended to teach me that fish talk, which by the way, you are amazing at inventing up that language…" His voice died as he realized Sharpay was really dead serious

"You still think I was a liar then, don't you?" she hissed bitterly before she turned away and ran off. At the same moment, Troy noticed lightning flashed that illuminated the top of Mt. Fufu for a moment. A short rumble of thunder followed but only Troy seemed to notice that too. Everyone was too surprised at Sharpay's reaction.

"What is her problem?" asked Gabriella.

Ryan shook his head. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't know it would still affect her after all these years."

"Affect her with what?" asked Troy curiously.

Ryan heaved a sigh. "Look, don't tell anybody okay, especially not Sharpay that I told you. It's not really something she'd want other people to know about her. You see when we were little kids she used to say she can talk to fish. I know it's ridiculous. But she used to spend hours out in the sea snorkeling or in the lake and she'd do that fish talk whenever she'd encounter a fish. She used to take me along and she tried to teach me that gibberish. Only she does it so elaborately. She even has subject-verb agreements, accent rules and everything."

"So she has a creative imagination," said Taylor. "What so wrong about that? We all did when we were children."

"Well it was okay at first," continued Ryan. "I mean when we were around five or six years old and we spent summers here every year. She even has these fish friends that she has names for. But then it went on until we were nine."

"Oh I think I remember that," Troy said as a memory came in his head. "When we were in third grade I think and the teacher asked about our summer, she told us that tale about exploring a cave with a flounder, was it a flounder?"

"No I think it was a tuna," Chad said. "I remember because I had a tuna sandwich for lunch that day and when she found out what it was, she called me a murderer and a cannibal. She took away my sandwich and hit me. I hit back so we ended up in the principal's office."

"Exactly," said Ryan. "Sharpay refuses to eat fish and she began getting really violent whenever somebody ate fish in the house. She said fish are friends, not food."

"Isn't that a line from Finding Nemo?" asked Zeke.

"Actually I heard Sharpay say that line even before Bruce the Shark did," said Ryan. "That was her usual retort whenever she was offered a fish dish. And we couldn't take her to a pet shop anywhere. Whenever she saw the fish in little bowls with very little water she'd raise hell and demand that the store owners set the fish free into the lake or the ocean. The same happens in seafood restaurants. When she sees the cooked fish, she starts crying and accusing the kitchen staff of murder. My parents were starting to get worried that her imagination was getting the best of her. She was sent to therapy for years for that. My parents also thought Mama Liat was partly to blame because of her stories that put odd ideas in Sharpay's head. I quite agree with them too. Mama Liat's nice and all, but she has these strange ideas about spirits and things. Sharpay tends to hang on to everything she says."

"She is strange," agreed Gabriella. "I mean what she said to Troy this morning…" Troy sensed his girlfriend was fishing for clues from Ryan if perhaps what the nanny said was planned with Sharpay as she suspected.

"Don't let her bother you much, Gabriella," assured Ryan. "She's just weird that way but its all just superstitious hullaballoo. Anyway, after our eleventh year, our parents refused to send us here for the summer and opted to let us stay in Lava Springs so Sharpay would stop talking to Mama Liat. This is the first time in years that we've come back here. I suppose the therapy and the separation helped. She stopped getting violent and she quit talking about her imaginary fish friends but she still refuses, up to now, to eat fish."

Troy digested all of this and tried to recall Sharpay when they were eleven. He remembered that she changed much during that time. Before, she was just this eccentric girl that people avoided because she was weird. She was suited for the theatre even then. But outside the stage she was a quiet girl—a loner who didn't associate with other people except her brother. However, after fifth grade, she suddenly became this cold-hearted mean girl that eventually transformed into the ice queen in high school.

Another hazy memory came on Troy's head about Sharpay. It was in kindergarten when she was still his best friend…

_Six-year-old Troy arrived in school, a clear bowl __half-filled __with water containing a single goldfish clutched tightly in his hands. He felt excited to be bringing Goldie to school and the "Show-and-Tell" assignment was the perfect time to show his pet to everyone. _

_He ran across the playground and found his best friend in the sandbox intent on building what she calls a "__cowral__wreef__"—whatever that is. _

_"Hey __Twoy__!" she greeted as she smiled at him to show the gap where her two front teeth had fallen off last week. She couldn't manage to say his name properly as a result. _

_"Look what I've got!" Troy said excitedly as he held up his fish bowl._

_Sharpay__ beamed delightfully at the sight of his fish and left her sandbox immediately to join him. She took the bowl from him and put her face near the opening of the bowl. She started making weird noises to his Goldie. _

_"What are you doing?" he asked._

_"Saying hello."__ And she went back to doing those noises again. He watched her slowly frown then she faced him with accusing eyes._

_"You're bad, __Twoy__!" she snapped._

_"What?"_

_"You keep it in a bowl!" she blamed him. _

_"He's a fish, you have to put him in a bowl," he answered. _

_She shook her head. "There's no food there. It's __hungwy__! "_

_"We can feed him." Troy fished out the food pellets from his pocket._

_"It doesn't like that," she shot at him. "And its water's not enough! It says __bwing__ it where there's more water." She made those noises again to his fish and she began to nod. "I know," she finally said something intelligible. __"The pond!"_

_Before he could react, she was running towards the little pond full of water lilies and green algae at the back of the school. All of a sudden she dumped the contents of his bowl—fish and all—into the dark green waters where he knew he could not recover his Goldie again._

_"Why did you do that?!" he demanded angrily at her._

_"It told me!" she retorted back. "You were bad keeping it in a little bowl!"_

_And then he started screaming at her, accusing her that now he had lost his pet and he had nothing for Show-and-Tell. But she kept screaming back saying he was doing bad things to the fish. It went on and on until their teacher broke them up._

That was the end of their friendship. Perhaps it was the end of any friendship she had with anyone else outside her family for he couldn't remember her having any friends after him. And now that he remembered it, he realized it was rather a stupid way to end a friendship over a fish. But that was kindergarten. He just wondered now why Sharpay was so insistent back then that the fish told her to set it free.

There was another flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder and this time everyone noticed. Troy felt a droplet of rain hit him.

"Looks like it's about to rain," said Ryan. Another zigzag of lighting cut through the sky followed by thunder. "I think we should get back into the house. You don't know these island storms. They just appear out of nowhere." Everyone agreed and began to get up.

"What about Sharpay?" asked Troy.

"Oh she'll be fine," said Ryan. "She's probably in her room right now. If not, she knows the island more than anyone and she knows well enough not to be out during a storm. Now we have to hurry. It's still a long walk up to the house and we need to get there before this lets up."

They all half-jogged back up the rocky path of the hillside slopes, past the rows of pineapples. They reached the house in time just as the heavens let out a heavy downpour. When they reached their room, Troy closed the windows for the wind was blowing rather heavily. He realized it was rather late and his roommates all decided to head for bed. He too lay down on his bed but for long time he kept awake listening to the sounds of the howling wind and the lashing rain. He couldn't help but think about Sharpay and her strange ideas about fish. And he secretly wondered if she really could talk to fish as she claimed. But he shook his head, dismissed it as a silly idea and turned over.

From where he lay on this side he could glimpse the glass window. It was pitch black, but occasionally a flash of lightning allowed him a glimpse of the top of Mt. Fufu. And each time it appeared to his sight, it seemed to be turning its faceless gaze at him bringing an ill-conceived omen.

* * *

_I'm enjoying your wonderful reviews and I'm enjoying plotting out this story. The ideas just keep coming in. I will be updating this really soon. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the "Consequences" sequel. That will have to wait a while. I just need to get this story out of my __head,__ it's occupying too much space in my head for me to think of anything else. _

_I couldn't resist using the "Finding Nemo" reference here. I just loved that film. This story is really inspired by that tale and I'll be making more references to it in future chapters._


	4. Voices in the Night

**Chapter**** Four**** Voices in the Night**

_"Troy…__ no…__"_

_"Let me go, please…"_

_"Not Troy… please…"_

Troy jolted awake to pitch darkness and lay still for a long moment. The hauntingly familiar voice was still ringing in his ears though he assured himself it was just a dream. The voice he recognized easily was Sharpay's. But it was the desperate tone of it rather than the owner of the voice that bothered him. He found himself thinking about her. Ever since last summer in Lava Springs, Troy felt a big change about her. She was a lot nicer to people and she appeared to really make an effort to make it up to Gabriella. Eventually his circle of friends came to accept her as one of their own and that was why she had extended this invitation. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Gabriella was right about her. Was she really setting another one of her schemes to get him?

He finally sat up in bed and listened outside. The rain was no longer pouring as heavily. However, the wind appeared to be howling still. He flicked on the lamp beside his bed but it didn't turn on. He got up and tried the wall switch, but it also didn't work. He realized that there must have been a power failure sometime in the night. He checked his watch and saw that it was a quarter to five in the morning. His roommates were still snoozing audibly in their own beds and he had no intention of going to sleep or interrupting someone else's.

He carefully made his way across the room, using his watch's luminance as a guide. When he opened the door to the hall, the light from an emergency lamp cast a dim glow from somewhere downstairs. He followed it until he came upon the living room where he found Gabriella and Ryan talking by the light of the lamp.

"I don't like it, Ryan," he heard Gabriella whisper. "I know she's your sister but…"

"I understand," he said as he took her hand in his. Troy felt a pang of jealousy came upon him. He knew Ryan was Gabriella's friend, but he still couldn't help but feel jealous at their new found closeness. "Look, if it bothers you that much, then I'm not going to take this against you. Go ask Troy later and I'll make the arrangements—"

"Go ask me what?" Troy interrupted and for a moment he was fearful of what the answer might be.

Gabriella and Ryan startled and Ryan dropped her hand. She looked up at him rather guiltily and he feared the worst.

"Troy, you're up," she said.

"Sorry there's no electricity," said Ryan. He didn't appear fazed at all. "I tried asking for a generator but the one we have is busted and we're still waiting for the back up from the staff quarters across the field…"

Troy ignored him and faced his girlfriend. "You were going to ask me what?"

"I think I should leave you two alone," Ryan excused himself and was gone in a moment. Troy braced himself.

"Troy, let's go home later today," Gabriella began. "This afternoon at the earliest."

That was the very last thing he expected to hear. "What?"

"I told Ryan I'm feeling uncomfortable with Sharpay and he agrees with me that his sister may be planning something again to get at you. He completely understands if we want to leave early. He can make the arrangements later today and he'll agree with any excuse we can make up for Sharpay."

Troy was surprised at how paranoid Gabriella seemed to be at this situation. He didn't think she would want to call off their vacation here just that easily over a possible threat of Sharpay trying to steal him without any proof. "B-but Gabriella, we just got here yesterday. You mean you want to fly all the way back after barely twenty-four hours?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "It's no expense. Ryan agreed to arrange for travel. Troy, I really don't feel like staying here any longer when Sharpay—"

"She's done nothing to you," he protested. It was a ridiculous idea that she was cutting short this trip when they could just be spending it together on this island and having the perfect vacation he had dreamed off with her.

"Nothing yet," she said. "But she will and I won't wait for that to happen. She'll tempt you again. She already tried this afternoon in that lake."

"I already told you, she just showed me a cave. What is wrong with that? And it wasn't just me she offered to show that to. She offered to everyone, even to you. But you didn't want to go."

Gabriella stubbornly huffed at him. "Well you lapped it all up, didn't you? What else did she offer to show you anyway? A diamond mine?"

Troy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Didn't she have enough faith in him? Didn't she trust him enough that he won't give in to luxuries over her? Did she think he was that weak that she had to whisk him off to safety like some child that needed protecting? It hurt that Gabriella thought so little of him.

"No, she didn't offer me anything. And I think you're jumping to conclusions here," he said.

"Oh so you won't go home with me!" her voice rose. "You choose her then!"

"That's not what I meant," Troy tried to explain.

"But that's what you implied," she said. "If you stay, then you choose her."

Troy heaved a sigh. Why was she being so irrational about this? But he cared about her and he didn't want to throw away their relationship like this by being stubborn.

"Alright fine. We'll go home later. I'll pack my bags as soon as there's light enough or when the generator comes."

Gabriella finally smiled and hugged him. "I knew you'd see it my way. She was about to kiss him when heavy footsteps alerted them to someone that stepped into the room. Troy stepped away and turned around to find Mama Liat hobbling about with a flashlight in her hand. Her clothes were all dripping wet, despite the raincoat she had on.

"My dear boy, I need your help, quick!"

"What is it?" asked Troy fearfully. The old woman rather unnerved him and she was even more frightening in this dark.

"My little Tiki has not returned to the house all night. She is out there in the storm! We need to find her."

Troy felt suddenly worried but Gabriella merely shot him a warning look.

"Well, isn't she in her room?" asked Troy.

The old woman shook her head. "I have checked her room and searched the house. She is not here. She has not been here all night."

"Well, I'm sure in the staff building—" Gabriella began but the old woman shook her head.

"I came from there. She is not there."

Ryan appeared into the room and asked what was going on. Mama Liat told him about Sharpay and implored him to look for her outside. But Ryan too appeared to be as nonchalant to the situation as Gabriella was.

"Mama Liat, there's nothing to worry about," assured Ryan. "Sharpay knows her way around the island and she's probably in one of the station houses somewhere. She'll come back later when the weather's subsided."

But the old woman shook her head. "But we must find her. She is in trouble, I know!" she insisted. "I have asked the staff to help but they refused to get up from bed." She turned from Ryan to Troy. "Please, help me find my little Tiki."

It was Sharpay's haunting voice that invaded his dreams that bothered him. Troy was not a superstitious person, but somehow, he couldn't help but feel that his dream had served as a warning that something wasn't right with Sharpay. He nodded to the woman. "Alright, let me go change into something else first."

"Troy!" protested Gabriella while Ryan merely shook his head.

"Look, she may be in real trouble," he reasoned.

Gabriella just grabbed his arm and took him aside with Ryan in tow. "That's what she wants you to believe. What if this is all part of Sharpay's plan?"

"In a storm?" said Troy incredulously. "I don't think Sharpay's capable of conjuring up a storm Gabriella."

"Yeah, you're right, that is pretty far-fetched," said Ryan. "And I don't think my sister's going to try anything tonight in this weather." Troy was grateful that Ryan agreed with him but his hopes melted with what he said next. "But I don't think you should go out there right now. I think Mama Liat is just being paranoid. Sharpay's going to be fine. She knows this place like the back of her hand and she's knows all about storms. She's not the kind to stay outside and wait for it. She'll seek shelter somewhere. The worst that can happen is she's stuck in some shed without any electricity and a comfortable bathroom—which I think she deserves to experience once in while," he added sarcastically.

Troy was used to Ryan saying things like this about Sharpay. Ever since last summer, Ryan had grown more and more detached from his sister. He was no longer afraid of being cynical of her. It was like he was getting back at her for all those years she treated him like a doormat. Still, he felt Ryan was taking this a little too far.

"But she could have had an accident," Troy reasoned. "Come on this is your sister here. Aren't you worried?"

Ryan just rolled his eyes. "Nope. I trust her enough. She can take care of herself. She's always been independent when she's around here. And she's not stupid enough to go staying out here when there's a storm."

"Well at least send some of your staff to help find her," Troy suggested. "You have dozens."

Ryan just huffed at him lazily. "It's five o' clock in the morning Troy. The phone lines are down along with the power. Cell phones as you know, don't work here. I'm not going to go out in that rain to the staff house to order my staff out of bed to find my sister who's probably snuggling comfortably in one of the station houses, just because you believe a paranoid senile old woman."

Troy gritted his teeth at Ryan. He was about to give the male Evans a piece of his mind when Mama Liat called from across the room.

"Son, are you coming?" Mama Liat called. "Please, we are wasting time. She's already been missing the whole night!"

Gabriella and Ryan shrugged at him, telling him this was just a wild goose chase. Troy figured perhaps they were right. But he simply couldn't shake of the feeling that something was very wrong.

"I'm coming," he said. He took the flashlight she offered him and he and raced upstairs to change into closed shoes, shorts and grab a jacket.

When he came down, Gabriella and Ryan looked at him with disapproval.

"Well it's your funeral," Ryan said. Gabriella just shook her head. Her expression was enough to convey that she was disappointed in him.

"Look, I'll go home with you later," he said to assure her that he was all out for her. Then he turned to Ryan and said harshly. "If you refuse to send your staff to go with her, I'm not letting an old woman go out there alone."

He took off without looking back. He didn't want to hear another word or see another look from Gabriella and Ryan. He couldn't understand how they could just take this so lightly. There was still a big possibility that Sharpay was lying in a ditch filled with floodwaters somewhere yet they weren't going to lift a finger to help.

Outside the house, beyond the cemented walkway it was muddy. He was grateful that the rain had finally tempered. Still lightning and thunder dominated the sky every few minutes while the wind continued to blow wildly from all directions.

"You are a good boy, my son," Mama Liat said as they made their way past the plantation rows. "You are a fitting man for my Tiki."

Troy couldn't decide whether the old woman was just senile and or conniving with Sharpay. Either way, he didn't want to give any wrong impression. So he just replied gently but firmly: "Sharpay's just my friend, Mama Liat. I'm going out with Gabriella. In fact I'm going home with Gabriella later this afternoon."

"Ahhh, so you will just leave my Tiki?" she asked evenly.

Troy couldn't decide what to make of the question. Was she hinting something sinister? So he settled with an equally even: "Yes."

The old woman was silent for awhile and they continued to tread the path that led downwards towards the beach. Finally Troy suggested they go check the station houses where Sharpay might have taken refuge. There were several in the plantation and there was one at end of the beach.

She didn't reply and Troy thought she didn't hear him.

"Mama Liat, I said we should check—"

"There is one thing you should know, my son," her cutting voice startled him. He tried to peer in her face but it was pitch dark and he could see nothing but the beam of her flashlight. Yet he could hear her voice clear enough. "Until you realize who she is to you… "

A flash of lightning lit the sky and illuminated her face for a second and he could see that she was standing directly behind Mt. Fufu. At the same time she uttered the words that chilled him to the bone more than the cold rain or the icy wind:

"The mountain will never let you leave."

* * *

**_A/N: _**_ As promised, I updated. It's quite short but I think I'll leave it there for a while and give you a bit of mystery to ponder on. I'm really getting good ideas for this one but I have to iron out a few kinks on the plot to make sure they flow smoothly and logically. I think mystery stories are one of the hardest to write, but they're also the most fun. Next chapter, the real trouble unfolds for poor Troy and Sharpay. _


	5. All Wet and Scaly

**Chapter Five: All Wet and Scaly**

For a long moment Troy stood numb at what Mama Liat said. Finally, he uttered: "W-what do you mean?"

She didn't reply. But he could tell from the beam of her flashlight that she was moving away from him.

"Mama Liat?" he called again.

"We will split up," she said as if she didn't hear him. "I will check the station house at the west end of the plantation. There is another on the east end of the beach. Go there."

Her beam of light moved further on westward and for a moment he watched it helplessly. He was still frightened at what she said. He decided to just follow her advice and go off alone. Frankly, he wasn't too keen on walking next to her.

The eastern area of the beach led to the foot of mount Fufu where the caverns were. Sharpay told him yesterday that this part of the beach was submerged in water during the high tide. But since it was nearly dawn, the water had receded though the waves still sprayed violently at him whenever they crashed against the shore line. It was dangerous being here, he knew, especially in this storm. Yet he kept on walking for he sensed that he was somehow heading in the right direction. He shouted Sharpay's name several times but it was a futile thing as his voice was easily lost to the sound of the wind and the crashing waves.

The sky was beginning to lighten and the rain finally subsided to a light drizzle. He knew the sun would be up soon and could give him more light. He found himself in front of the entrance of one of the caves. This was his favorite among those they explored yesterday for it was one of the bigger ones. He felt drawn to it again and he slowly stepped inside, shinning his flashlight ahead. He gazed at the stones rising inside that formed something like a pedestal when this was submerged under water during high tide. And as he did, he saw something unusual on top: a mass of blonde hair draped messily over a pale still form.

"Sharpay!" Troy gasped fearfully. He quickly climbed the rough rocks up to her, cutting himself on his hands in knees in the process. He saw that she was lying on her back on top of a smooth rock and she was still as death with her wet hair strewn across her face. She was still in the same tank top and shorts she wore last night during the bonfire and he realized she had been here all night. She probably got trapped in the cave when the tide rose. She was an excellent swimmer but he figured she wouldn't risk swimming out especially in a storm that made strong waves that could sweep her violently towards the rocks. He remembered the voice he heard in his dreams. Had she called out to him last night all alone here trapped in this dark cave with the water rising around her?

Or even worse, what if the tide did reach her and she had drowned in the night and she was now lying lifeless on that rock?

_Sharpay__, please don't be dead. Please don't be dead,_ he prayed silently. If she was, he didn't know what he'll do. But he was definitely going to do something about Ryan for not even caring to find her.

He grasped her neck to feel for a pulse, but before he could find one, he felt her breathe. She stirred on her own and moaned audibly. Relief washed over him.

"Sharpay?" he called softly as he checked her body for any sign of injury. He noticed a few cuts on her arms and knees, but none were deep. He knew it was probably only from climbing her rock bed. Still he was worried she might have some internal injuries.

Sharpay's head moved and this time she opened her mouth.

"Weeee—haaooo—woo—shee—hooooooo—" Her high-pitched mutterings startled him, but any sound coming from her, even if it didn't make sense, was better than nothing.

"Sharpay?" he called again as he gently touched her cheek. It felt as cold as ice. In fact she appeared frozen all over. He knew she needed warmth. He hurriedly took of his jacked then started rubbing her arms and legs with his bare hands.

She stirred at his touch and mumbled the same unintelligent high-pitched phrases. She slowly opened her eyes and she stopped mumbling as she focused on his face.

"T-Troy?" she gasped hoarsely.

"Yes, it's me," he replied. "Look, I'll get you out of here. Do you hurt anywhere? Can you stand?"

Her eyes blazed with sudden fear and she sat up so fast he was startled.

"What are you doing here?!" she cried. Her tone wasn't accusatory but panicked.

"I came to find you. You haven't been back—"

"You shouldn't have come!" she shouted almost hysterically. "You shouldn't have come for me!"

"I was worried—" he began but she cut him again.

"You have to go! Leave! Get out of the island now!" she said desperately. And then she stood up and began climbing down the rocks, while pulling at him. He got a few more cuts on the sharp surfaces but she didn't appear to notice or care. She jumped the last step and they landed on the wet sand in a painful heap. But she didn't stop. She grabbed him again by the arm and began pulling him towards the entrance of the cave. She finally paused as they came out of the cavern and saw the ocean. The sun was already rising over the waves under the now clear skies.

"NO!" she cried as if the sun frightened her.

"Sharpay, what's going on?" Troy asked. She was scaring him.

"Too late!" she uttered and he saw tears fall down her cheeks.

He wondered what she was talking about when he felt the warm rays of the sun hit him. Suddenly he felt like he was choking. He gasped for breath but the air around him seemed to suffocate him more.

"TROY!" Sharpay screamed as she grasped him by the arms.

He couldn't speak back to her for in the next instant, he felt a sharp pain all over his body as if he was being cut in a thousand places all at once. He collapsed on his knees in the sand. But he only felt it a moment, for suddenly his knees seemed to melt into nothingness, the same with the rest of his legs and arms. Sharpay tried desperately to hold on to him. She grasped his neck but her hands also seemed to slip and he felt the chain of Gabriella's necklace break from his neck and into her hand. His face fell into the sand and he wiggled with pain, gasping for breath.

"No! No! Please! Not this way! I didn't mean it—" he heard Sharpay scream before it was cut off completely and he felt his brain beginning to shut down out of lack of air. He felt himself lifted off the sand and it seemed like he was being carried by some unknown force. Then he was falling and he hit water.

Suddenly he could breathe again. The unbearable pain was completely gone now and he gulped lungfuls of air. His oxygen-starved brain a moment ago began to function again. His senses perked up and he began to be aware of his surroundings. He was underwater and he realized he was breathing in it as easily as he did air. Yet even more strangely, his vision here was so clear just like it would on land. There were new senses he could feel that he never realized he had before. He could sense the movement of the waves above him and those below. He could feel if there was an object in front of him even before his vision allowed him to see it. There were other things he could feel yet he could not grasp them all. He needed time to think.

He felt a disturbance in the water as if something large entered it. His instincts told him to flee. But then he saw it was Sharpay. She looked so much bigger than he remembered.

_"Troy?"_ she asked. Even though she couldn't shed tears in the ocean, he knew she was crying.

_"I can breathe in the water __Sharpay__!" _he said excitedly. _"What happened?"_

She continued to sob. _"It's __all my__ fault. I didn't mean it. It was just a silly childhood game. I didn't even think the legend was true. I didn't know he'd grant it."_

Troy had no idea what she was talking about. _"What's going on, __Sharpay__?"_

_"You're a __humuhumunukunukuapua'a__!" _she cried. _"I'm so sorry, Troy."_

_"I'm a what?!"_

_"A __humuhumunukunukuapua'a__!" _she repeated.

Troy was extremely confused. _"Isn't that the name of the prince in your __Tiki__ story?"_

_"Yes," _she said sadly. _"It's also a kind of fish native to these islands. __A reef trigger__ fish. You're a fish Troy, I'm so sorry."_

_"A fish?"_ Troy thought she wasn't making any sense at all. _"That's ridiculous. I'm not a fish."_

_"Yes you are!" _she insisted. _"Look behind you." _

He tried to turn his head, but he realized he didn't have a neck that can turn the same way that he was used to. Instead he felt his eyeballs rotate in a manner that was humanly impossible. And as he did, what he saw shocked him. Where he expected to see his legs he could only see a blue fish's tale with streaks of gold and silver. He tried to lift his arms but found that he had none. Instead he had pale blue fins and he could see the dorsal one was sharp and spiky. He opened his mouth in horror, and suddenly spouted out water.

_"That happens to reef trigger fish, you know, blowing jets of water in from their mouth," _Sharpay said in a pathetic attempt to explain. But Troy didn't care for that particular explanation. He was too horrified.

_"W-what happened to me? __This is a dream! This is a dream! I'll wake up from it!" _he chanted.

He saw Sharpay go up and for a moment he thought she was leaving him. But he could see through the water that she just surfaced to breathe air before submerging herself underwater again.

_"It's not a dream Troy," _she said sadly. _"__Fufu__ granted the wish I asked for when I was nine. I told him I wanted a prince, one that can understand me completely. Back then the only friends I had were fish. They alone understood me and so he turned you into one. __Just like in the legend of Princess __Tiki__."_

Troy was still finding all this hard to believe. _"__Sharpay__Fufu__ and __Tiki__ are all just myths," _he insisted.

She shook her head. _"That's what I tried to tell myself for years. But you're a fish. How do you explain that?"_

Troy had no answer for that. But the more he thought of it, the more he became suspicious of her. Was she some kind of sorceress? He didn't believe in such things, but then again, he's a fish and that just shattered a great big chunk of his previous beliefs about the supernatural. _"H-how do you know all this? Do you know I was going to become a __humuhumu__—I mean a __fish with a really un-pronounceable name__" _

_"A fish named __Anuhea__ told me. It came up to me while I was stuck the whole night while the tide was up and I couldn't get out of the cave."_

_"Excuse me? Did you just say a fish told you?" _he asked doubtfully. _"You talk to fish?"_

_"Yes, I can since I was four, after my sister Lucy died. I'm talking to you now in fish talk. You wouldn't be able to understand me in English." _And she said something unintelligible as if to prove the point. However, when Troy tried to read her lips, he managed to catch her say the words "won't understand" though those same words just sounded gibberish to him. He realized that he can still try lip reading her when she said something in human language but as a fish it would sound unintelligible to him.

_"But you knew it would happen now?" _he asked, still suspicious of her.

_"__Anuhea__ told me," _she explained. _"Fish are always more sensitive to __Fufu__. They carry out his messages sometimes. __Anuhea__ said __Fufu__ will grant me my long-standing wish today when the sun rises. But all wishes that __Fufu__ grants always carries__ a curse. And last night I dreamt that you would be cursed. That's __why I didn't want you near me. Oh Troy! I was so stupid. I wished for you to understand me and now you're a fish."_

_"How do we turn me back?" _he asked.

She broke through the surface again to breathe and he realized she can still talk to him even if her head was above water. _"I don't know," _she said.

Troy thought about it, but he could barely think. He still couldn't get over the shock of being a fish.

_"Mama __Liat__ would know," _she said hopefully. _"We need to talk to her. She's always more knowledgeable about these things."_

Troy didn't exactly think that was a brilliant idea because the nanny scared him. _"You think that's wise. She sort of threatened me a few minutes ago. She said if I don't realize who you are the mountain won't let me leave. I think she may have something to do about this."_

But Sharpay shook her head. _"Mama __Liat__ would never hurt anyone. Troy, we need her help."_

_"How do you know she's not the one that cursed me?" _Troy asked uncertainly.

_"She won't. It's not her, __it's__Fufu__. Look, I can't explain Troy but I just know she won't do that. She's just delivering messages from __Fufu__. She's known to do that among the locals. She's sensitive like the fish. But she knows about him and these legends more than anyone. I need to get to her."_

Troy sighed. He was just so confused he didn't know who to trust anymore. But it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter. _"Alright, talk to her."_

_"I need to leave you for a while Troy while I get her," _said Sharpay. _"Stay here and I'll be back really quick."_

Troy was suddenly alarmed. He was afraid to be alone in this unfamiliar sea. What if Sharpay left him to be like this forever? _"Don't leave me here!" _he cried.

Sharpay put her hand on the water and gently stroked his tail. _"I have to so I can get to her. Troy, you can't survive out of water and I have nothing to carry you with. I'll be back soon."_

There was nothing he could do. He moved his tiny body across her hand, flicking her skin in an attempt for a reassurance that she wouldn't just leave him like this. Sharpay's gently touched him back and that comforted him somewhat.

_"I won't leave you. And I'll get you back to human form. I promise. I will come back," _she whispered before finally leaving the water. He watched her disappearing form and he could only pray that he could trust her.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_The curse finally befalls Troy comes. From here on I will delve into the supernatural but I'll try to still keep it as realistic as possible. To those of you who don't know (I didn't either until recently), the humuhumunukunukuapua'a is Hawaii's state fish. It is also called the reef trigger fish (thank God, there's actually a shorter name for it!). I checked it in Wikipedia and that's where I got the description of Troy's new physical appearance. **AlwaysxAddicted **told me the name that the word means "snort like a pig" which gave me the idea that the name is a real fish (I didn't know that before, I thought it was just a funny name). Three cheers to you for pointing me in the proper direction. _

_I must give credit and many praises to **turboman **for suggesting Anuhea's name (it means sweet fragrance). I will be using other the names that turboman suggested in future chapters. _

_I'll try to update soon as soon as incorporated the new details I get about the humuhumunukunukuapua'a. _


	6. The Sorrows of a Cursed Princess

**Chapter**** Six**

**The Sorrows of a Cursed Princess**

Sharpay ran up to the plantation main house as fast as her legs could carry her. It was only when she reached the beginning of the rows of pineapples that she realized she had been holding on to Troy's necklace since it broke away into her hand when he transformed. She clutched it tighter in her hand and prayed to whatever deity was there aside from Fufu that he would be alright until she got back.

As the sand disappeared to red earth under her feet she realized how filthy her legs had become. The sand that caked in between her toes in the beach was now getting muddier by the minute. Yet she ignored it and kept her pace. She had lost her designer flip-flops sometime in the night but it didn't matter. She was used to running around bare footed as a little girl when she was in the island and now it was all coming back to her. Everything was coming back to her.

Her heart hammered in her chest. She still couldn't believe the legend was true. After all those years that she tried to suppress her beliefs, they now returned to haunt her.

Sharpay felt warm tears run down her cheeks as she recalled those long lonely years of struggle with what she thought was just an overactive imagination. She had been told that so many times she came to believe it was true. It wasn't as if she had a choice in the matter.

No one believed her. Not her parents, not Ryan, not her classmates and certainly not those doctors she was sent to for years. She hated those therapy sessions. Those doctors kept probing on all her thoughts and feelings but never really believed her when she told them the truth. And when she insisted on telling them they forcibly administered drugs on her to calm or immobilize her. In fact, they pumped so many drugs on her through the years there was a period of her life that she just sat in a daze for hours on end without being able to function properly. It was worse when she wasn't allowed to go back to the island for the summer or even call Mama Liat. She missed all her fish friends and particularly Mama Liat—the only beings who ever believed her. Instead, she had to endure socializing with those stuck up daughters of her parents' friends who used to laugh at her whenever she made conversation with the fish swimming in the aquarium in the Lava Springs country club lobby.

Before long, she learned it was easier to just lie and hide the fact that she can talk to fish. At least, she avoided being thought of as mad. At the end of the first summer she spent at Lava Springs, she ordered all fish to be removed in the country club and at her home. She hated to send all her fish friends away but she just couldn't ignore them when they talked to her.

Her parents stopped sending her to therapy after that and everyone treated her normally. Yet she never felt so lonely in her life. She kept up an untouchable mask that she learned also made her feared by others that they left her alone. She was content with that. No one can really understand her like the fish did. But she had to grow up and she came to accept her fate as a way to cope. Even the old legends she used to delight in, she began to grow skeptical of.

Her sad reminisces of the past broke away when she reached the house. She stopped in front of it. There were a lot of people crowding at the entrance, whispering importantly. Sharpay felt a sense of dread overcome her and she pushed past them.

"It's Miss Evans!" someone who recognized her shouted. "Mr. Evans! Miss Evans is here!"

The crowd finally parted for her and she hurriedly entered the living room. In the middle of it all, on the couch she found Ryan surrounded by their friends.

"Shar?" the sound of Ryan's voice cracked and Sharpay realized her brother was crying. Ryan was no cry baby, certainly not in front of other people. Something was very wrong. Her suspicions intensified when she noticed her friends looking at her sadly.

"Ryan, what happened?" she asked. Her brother's response was to get up and hug her tightly.

"I'm just glad you're here and you're safe. I knew you would be, but I should have—" He stopped to sob again.

"Ryan please tell me what's going on?" she asked fearfully.

"I think she should sit down," said Taylor. And the other girl pulled them towards an empty couch though she stared at Sharpay curiously. Sharpay realized she must look horrid with all this mud and sand on her and her hair a complete mess. But Taylor wasn't noticing this at all. "Sharpay, where did you get these?" she asked she pointed to the superficial cuts on her arms and legs that were now beginning to turn red.

"It's nothing. I just cut myself on some rough rock last night," Sharpay dismissed. "It's not important. Please tell me what happened!" Sharpay begged Taylor. As much as she knew her brother was upset, she didn't have time for this. She had to get to Mama Liat and get back to Troy.

"It's Mama Liat," choked Ryan.

"What about her?" asked Sharpay. "I need to talk to her."

Ryan sniffed. "It's all my fault. She came to me a while ago because she was worried that you weren't back at the house. She asked for help to find you but I refused. Troy went with her. I didn't even order the staff to help. She and Troy must have split up in their search for you. She came to one of the station houses at the west end of the plantation and she…

"She what?" Sharpay cried.

"Had a stroke," muttered Ryan. "She was worried about you and the strain must have been too much."

Sharpay stared at her brother in shock. "What…? W-Where is she now?"

"She was air lifted by chopper just five minutes ago," replied Kelsi. "It's a good thing the storm lifted so the chopper managed to lift off. They'll take her to the hospital in the mainland."

"They don't know if she's going to make it," sobbed Ryan. "If she dies… it's all my fault." He buried his face in his hands.

Gabriella sat behind him and hugged him from behind. "No it's not. Don't think that. You couldn't have possibly known she was going to have a stroke. She's old, she—"

"Exactly," cried Ryan. "She's old and I was being selfish when I let her go out alone with Troy in that storm when she was already upset."

Sharpay blinked back the tears she felt that were threatening to fall. A million emotions were running through her: sadness over the possible loss of her nanny and oldest friend, fury at her brother, and worry over Troy. The worry finally won over.

"I have to see her! I need to talk to her" she shouted as she stood up. She bellowed for her staff. "I need another chopper. Now!"

But Taylor blocked her path and held out her hands. "Sharpay. They're taking her to the ICU. You can't talk to her there. And even if you can, she's unconscious." Taylor began to launch another scientific explanation about strokes but Sharpay cut her off.

"I DON'T CARE! I NEED TO TALK TO HER! NOW!" She started to scream at her startled staff to arrange a flight, but this time Ryan turned to face her.

"Sharpay, calm down. She's gonna be alright," he said though he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince her. "We can only wait. The phone lines are back and I've sent Maile and Kaleo with her. They can inform us immediately of any developments."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT! I NEED HER TO GET TROY BACK!" she knew she was becoming hysterical but she just couldn't help it. Her one clue to getting Troy back into human form was taken away.

"What about Troy?" Gabriella asked in alarm. "Sharpay, where is he?"

Sharpay faced her awkwardly. How can she tell Gabriella that her boyfriend just got turned into a fish and was now swimming in the ocean? Gabriella stared at her and noticed her hand. She grasped it and pulled at the necklace she was holding.

"This is Troy's!" She stared at Sharpay fearfully. "Where is he?"

For the first time, Sharpay found herself utterly speechless in front of Gabriella.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella cried sharply. "What happened to Troy?"

Gabriella shook her arms and Sharpay managed to mutter: "B-beach…"

"Is he… is he alright? Sharpay, please?" Gabriella implored though she did so forcefully.

Sharpay could only shake her head. But then she realized she had to get back to him. If she couldn't get to Mama Liat, she had to get back to Troy at least and put him somewhere safe. It was dangerous in the ocean. There were too many predators there and he can be easily lost out into the sea.

She pushed past Gabriella and headed towards the kitchen. "Get me a bucket!" she ordered one of the maids. The terrified maid rushed outside and came back with a clean pail. Sharpay then took off running outside the house. Gabriella and the rest of her friends followed after her.

"Sharpay, where are you going?" Gabriella demanded as she tried to keep pace with her.

"To get Troy. He's in danger!" Sharpay shouted back to her without slowing down. She reached the beach in a few minutes. The sea was calmer now and the tide was lower than when she left him here. Sharpay dropped her pail on the sand ran out to the sea until the water was up to her thighs.

_"Troy!" _she screamed in fish talk. _"I'm back! Where are you?"_

"Sharpay?" Gabriella called out from behind her but Sharpay ignored her. She ran further and met the waves until the water was neck deep. _"Troy, please answer me! I'm here!"_

"Sharpay, what are you doing? Where's Troy?" she heard Chad ask behind her.

"I'm looking for him. _Troy!" _She dived down, thankful that the water was now calm and clear enough for sunlight to pass through and enable her to see in the crystal clear waters. _"Troy, I've come back!" _she shouted underwater but she still couldn't get an answer. She resurfaced just to breathe air then dived back again, ignoring the frantic inquiries of Gabriella and her friends.

She saw a tiny pink and white fish pass by and she recognized it as Anuhea. It was the fish messenger Fufu sent to her that kept her company all throughout the night in the cave. She swam close to it, but it tried to avoid her by swimming away. She however, caught up to its tail. _"I won't hurt you,_" she assured the panicked fish. _"It's me! __Sharpay__, remember?"_

_"Oh yes," _the fish instantly stopped fighting._ "The fortunate maiden blessed by the Great Spirit." _It said with deep reverence.

Sharpay didn't think she was very fortunate being blessed by the Great Spirit. So far his blessings had done nothing but to mess up her life and put Troy's in danger. But then again, there was no point in explaining that to the fish. She had tried to do that last night, but it just couldn't seem to grasp the idea that Fufu's wish fulfilling kept turning her world upside down.

_"I'm __looking for someone," _she told the fish. _"__Fufu__ turned my friend Troy into a __humuhumunukunukuapua'a__."_

_"So the Great One has fulfilled your wish then!" _the little fish cried ecstatically with a dreamy look in her eyes.

_"I know, I know," _Sharpay said rather irritably. _"But I can't find him now. And he doesn't know his way around here. Have you seen him? He's about this big," _she said as she demonstrated with her hands about a half a meter long. _"__He's got a very bright blue tail and his gold streak is really distinct__Answers to the name of Troy."_

_"Strange name for a prince," _the fish muttered. _"But I haven't seen it. But perhaps some of the others have."_

Anuhea then led Sharpay forward as it called out to the other fish it was acquainted with. It went on for quite a long time that Sharpay had to go up for air a few times. However, no one had seen him and Sharpay was feeling hopeless.

But finally one old barred triggerfish that had a bruised fin and a missing eye came up. Anuhea introduced it as dear old Aukai.

_"Ah, you mean the new strange one?" _Aukai asked after Sharpay described him.

_"__Y__es, __Troy!"_ Sharpay cried hopefully.

_"I can't quite pronounce its name. It's rather odd. But I met it alright. It's a curious little creature. __Wanted to know all about __Fufu__ the Great and the fish tales.__ I told it the story of the foolish fish," _Aukai continued.

He appeared to want to go on and on with his story. But Sharpay didn't have time for this.

_"Pardon me," _she finally interrupted. _"But I need to know where Troy is now."_

_"Well, we couldn't stay together," __Aukai__ shrugged. "You see I wanted to tell it more tales as it was really interested. But a barracuda came by and we had to swim. The barracuda went after it instead of me. Figured it was a fleshier breakfast than me. A shame…" _He paused to give a disappointed grunt. _"That young one wanted to hear my tales and I would have told it a couple more. But I reckon it's probably eaten by now." _

* * *

_**A/N: **I thought I might end this in a cliffie just to spice things up. Stay tuned for the next chappie where I'll be leaning on the "Finding Nemo" thing as Troy experiences an underwater adventure._

_Again, I want to thank turboman for Aukai's name (it means seafarer or sailor. I thought it would be appropriate name for someone that has travelled a lot around the islands). Turboman also contributed Maile's and Kaleo's names._


	7. The Tale of the Foolish Fish

**Chapter S****even**** The Tale of the Foolish Fish**

Troy watched Sharpay's figure disappear from his line of vision. When she was completely gone, he felt an overwhelming bout of fear again. Will she come back for him?

For a long time he stayed that way, unmoving in the water and unsure of what to do. But finally he could see that the water above him was thinning. He realized the tide was slowly receding. He had to move further into deeper waters or else he would suffocate again.

Cautiously he swam forward towards the open ocean. It was like this vast expanse that went on and on. And he realized that that it was a different world in here. He swam a little further and each time he did he began to relax and breathe easier. His stomach, however, grumbled. It was probably breakfast time back in the house and he realized he was starving. He could see some rough rocks covered with thick layers of green algae. He slowly made his way to it. He stared at it in wonder. Before, he thought algae were rather slimy and disgusting to touch but as a fish it just looked magnificent to him. In fact, it looked quite juicy. He approached it and some instinct told him to just take a bite. And when he did, he discovered that not only was it edible, it also tasted quite good. He continued to nibble at it for a long time, savoring its delightfully pleasant though strange texture and flavor. He was enjoying himself when he suddenly felt a movement above him. He stopped and looked up. To his horror, he came face to face with a fish half his size. It was pale blue with faded yellow fins and tale. However, it looked frightening because one of its eyes was missing and its left gill was bruised so that it hung limp and ugly. Troy fearfully stepped back but could do nothing further. He was too frozen with fear.

"Relax, young one," the fish spoke in a booming low voice. "I'm a plant eater just like you. Care to share your food there? There's plenty for both of us."

"O-okay," replied shakily. He still kept his distance out of fear that the other fish might do something to him. But the fish merely made its way to the other side of the algae he was eating and started nibbling on it too. After a moment it glanced back at him.

"I scare you, don't I?" it said in a rather teasing manner.

"No," Troy uttered.

But the fish just looked amused. "What do you know? This old fish's still got it. I'm flattered. You're not from around here, are you?"

"H-how do you know?" Troy asked.

"Well, coz everyone that knows me doesn't get scared of me anymore. They just think I'm an old harmless softie. I've been hanging around this place too long. But I can't really leave anymore. Haven't got the strength to go out there and compete with the young ones with my injuries, see?" And it showed Troy his bruised fin and eye. Troy was reminded of those old war time veterans that he used to visit in the home for the aged for community service. The fish appeared to be showing off his battle scars.

"I'm at the end of my life, I know," the fish continued. "But it was a good life. I've travelled a long way and I've seen a lot of things. Care to hear them?"

"Oh sure, yes," Troy said just to be polite. As long as the fish was just talking and not hurting him, he was content with that.

"My name's Aukai." The fish introduced itself.

"Troy."

"Strange name you have," it said. "Well anyway, I've travelled to places you'll probably only dream of. I've drifted far beyond the reefs, yes I have." And it kept on chattering and chattering about places and things Troy just couldn't grasp. Occasionally, it described some things that Troy figured were coral reefs or other beaches of some islands in the vicinity. But before long, Troy began to relax and resumed nibbling on another part of the rock that had some more algae while Aukai chattered on and on between bites. Troy only half-listened to what it said.

"…And then I came upon the foot of the sacred rock of Fufu…"

Troy suddenly looked up. "Fufu? You know the spirit Fufu?" he asked.

"Oh, yes the Fufu, the Great," said Aukai. "Of course everyone knows him but not all have had the privilege of getting close to its rock as I have. Of no, the other fish haven't the courage like I did."

Troy suddenly remembered Ryan's story about the wishing shrine and although everything was muddled in his head right now, he knew he needed as much information as he could get about this strange spirit god. "You said sacred rock, you mean the wishing shrine of Fufu? You've been there?"

"Oh no! No!" gasped the fish. "Not the wishing shrine, no. Young one, you must not speak of such things."

"But you said sacred rock?" asked Troy.

"I meant the foot of the mountain that you can only approach when the ocean spreads its power over the rocks so that they touch."

Troy figured Aukai was talking about the high tide when the water touches the foot of Mt. Fufu. "So it's not the wishing shrine then?" he asked.

"Oh no, never the wishing shrine. I would not be so bold. That is beyond the reach of us sea fish. We leave that to the strange fish of tasteless water. That is their misfortune."

"Misfortune?" Troy asked, puzzled. Though he did have an idea by what Aukai meant by "strange fish of tasteless water:" the fresh water fish living in the island.

"Why yes, dear young one. Haven't you heard of the foolish fish?"

Troy answered in the negative.

"Why it's just the finest story of them all about the strange fish of tasteless water. I have heard it from my grandfather. Would you like to hear?"

"Yes, of course," Troy said eagerly. Anything that had to do with Fufu might be important.

"Well then," said Aukai who seemed rather pleased to have a listening ear. "We all hear of Fufu the Great and that he has a most powerful place called the wishing shrine hidden among its sacred rocks. We sea fish cannot ever go there even if we want to but my grandfather has met a fish from tasteless water that converted to a sea fish and heard the story from it. We all know about the story of the shrine. It was said that once you find the shrine you are granted one wish by Fufu the Great. But, for every wish granted, comes a curse." Aukai said the last word with a dramatic boom of voice. He paused before continuing.

"Well, the fish of tasteless water are most likely to find the shrine so they have all been warned since birth: If you have the misfortune to find the shrine, never make a wish. It is the only way to ensure your safety. But according to my grandfather who heard it from the fish from tasteless water, one foolish fish did make a wish. And its wish was so horribly evil that it was cursed for life..."

Aukai gave a seemingly suspenseful pause.

"What did it wish for?" asked Troy.

"To become human." Aukai gave another dramatic pause. Troy was starting to get annoyed with the constant pausing but he kept his patience in check. Finally Aukai continued.

"It was horrible. No fish would ever think of committing such a gruesome wish. To be one of those awful creatures…" the fish spat in disgust and Troy felt a bit insulted that his race was being snubbed. But then again he did remember humans eat fish. He could just imagine how badly the fish thought of them.

"And that's not all," said the Aukai. "Do you know why the foolish fish made that wish?"

Troy shook his head.

"To be with another human. Can you just imagine the shame of it? A fish desiring to be with a human instead of its own kind?"

"Yeah, I can imagine," Troy said as she thought of Sharpay and her fish friends. It was weird of course but not entirely as shocking as Aukai was picturing it to be. "So Fufu granted its wish then?"

"Yes," said Aukai. "It mated with its desired human and lived like him. But now it is cursed forever to walk the earth as a human, to breathe the sickly air instead of the healthy waters. And long after its human mate passed on, it continues to live as one, alone and forever cut off from its race."

He ended his tale with a tone of tragedy. And Troy couldn't help but feel depressed. Was he doomed like the foolish fish to remain like this forever?

"And its name," Aukai suddenly continued that Troy was startled. "Its name was forever put to shame. Would you like to know its name?" Aukai said excitedly like a little boy on the brink of a huge revelation.

"Why yes," said Troy.

"Oh, but you must never repeat it to the other fish. It upsets them," Aukai warned. It took a deep breath as if bracing himself for a difficult task. Troy likened him to some sort of a drama king. Aukai was beginning to sound like male fish version of Darbus. "Its name…" It took another very long dramatic pause and then: "Is Liat."

"What?" Troy gasped.

"Don't make me repeat it. It's a rather taboo word now."

"No, no, you don't have to, I got it," said Troy. He just couldn't believe it. Liat? Was it just a coincidence that the foolish fish had the same name as Sharpay's creepy nanny? There was a possibility she was a fish. After all that happened to him, Troy no longer took anything supernatural for granted. Didn't Sharpay said Mama Liat is sensitive to Fufu, like the fish? If so, then the key to his freedom really was Mama Liat. If she knew where the wishing shrine was, Troy could go there and wish himself back!

"When do you think this Liat became human?" Troy asked.

But Aukai didn't respond. Its mouth fell open without uttering a word and Troy could see its one good eye was wide open staring fearfully at something behind him. Troy turned around and to his horror he saw in front of him a huge ugly dark green fish with a long body. Its red eyes stared at him and slowly its mouth curved open in a hideous smile that revealed several rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Uhhmmm… hello?" Troy said to the fish fearfully as he grasped at something to say. "W-would you like to share our breakfast too?" he said indicating the algae.

"Young one," choked Aukai. "You don't invite a barracuda for breakfast."

"Uhhmmm, why's that?" Troy asked to Aukai without letting his gaze away from the big fish he now identified as a barracuda. It suddenly clicked on his head why even before Aukai could answer back:

"Because to a barracuda, we are breakfast. Swim!!!"

Troy felt his instincts kick in and he put on a burst of speed in the opposite direction. He felt the violent movement of the water around him and he knew the barracuda was at his tail. He didn't know where to go but all he could think of was to get away from the huge fish. He felt its breath so close to him for a second that he thought he was done for, but he managed to jerk downwards and high-tail in the opposite direction. From the corner of his eye, he saw Aukai flee towards a cluster of rocks and hide. He was a bit relieved that the other fish was safe, but he could still feel the barracuda after him. He swam as he never swam (or run) in his life before, darting past rocks and plants.

But finally, he felt himself exhausting, he was slowing down. He felt the barracuda's breath closing around him, its teeth grazed at his top fin and he knew he was done for. But then he involuntarily flexed his back and he felt his spine erect that in turn prevented the barracuda from swallowing him whole. He took advantage of the predator's sudden confusion and put on a burst of speed. But then he didn't see where he was going and he came upon a large rock. He realized he was cornered. He turned to face the approaching barracuda fearfully and shut his eyes knowing his end was about to come.

All of a sudden he felt a movement somewhere above him. He opened his eyes and saw to his amazement the barracuda had moved upwards away from him. His eyes followed the direction the barracuda went and saw a larger white fish above him. That was what the movement he felt. In split-second the barracuda closed in on the white fish and opened its large jaws. It bit on the fish's flesh, spilling blood and guts everywhere that for a moment Troy was frozen with terror. But he came to and didn't lose another second. He swam away as fast as he could in no particular direction, as long as it took him away from that barracuda.

Finally, exhaustion wore him out and he had to rest. He looked at his surroundings. Everything was just an empty expanse of green with a few rocks at the bottom and some small plants growing. He had no clue where he is and he had no hope of ever getting back to the beach. Even if Sharpay were to come back for him, he wouldn't be there to meet her. If he could, he would cry. But even that was denied him. The only thing he can do was to swim and hopefully find a way back to the beach. And so after he rested a bit, he did just that. He swam in no particular direction, past unfamiliar rocks and plants, though he did so cautiously for he didn't want another encounter with a predator. A single quote from Finding Nemo came to his head: "just keep swimming." It struck him as funny that he was following the advice of Dory, the forgetful fish. But right now, it appeared to be the most sensible thing to do so he kept on for several minutes.

He made a sudden stop. He felt a shadow above him and moments later, several large black fishes about the same size came to face him that he didn't have time to move away.

"Hello, humuhumu!" one of the fish greeted, though Troy felt the manner of greeting wasn't very pleasing.

"Hello," Troy replied back unenthusiastically. He hoped perhaps they were friendly enough like Aukai and might give him directions to the beach.

"Want to play with us?" asked another fish though the invitation was rather mocking rather than genuine.

"Yeah, play with us," encouraged a third. "It's fun."

Something about the way the fish said it made Troy very uncomfortable. And so even though he was desperate for directions, he didn't feel like taking his chances with them. "Er… no thank you. I'd better be going now." He began to swim away but one of the fish blocked his path.

"Oh stay," said the fish. "We like to play, don't we fellas?"

Troy was really nervous now. He was awfully reminded of those senior bullies that picked on him when he came to East High as a freshman. Eventually they backed off on him, but they were pretty intimidating at first. He decided maybe if he sounded a bit more assertive they would leave him alone, just like those bullies did after he stood up to them at the middle of freshman year. He involuntarily flexed his spine up and realized he appeared a bit bigger. "Look, I really have to go!" he said with his voice rising.

But the fish didn't appear intimidated at all. "Ahh, little humuhumu doesn't want to play," teased the fish. "Well that's okay. That's more fun for us anyway."

"How so?" Troy couldn't resist asking.

"We could have fun chasing you," said the fish.

"Yeah," agreed another. "Real fun..." And it smiled gruesomely to show its teeth. It wasn't as big as the barracuda's but Troy could tell it could be just as deadly, especially when there were several of them working together. He had a brief image of being torn to pieces before the fish confirmed his suspicions:

"It's going to be fun playing with you… before we eat you."

* * *

_Another __Finding __Nemo__ inspired chapter. But I hope you like it even if some of the elements are borrowed. I just picture__d__ Troy a lot like Marlin when he's desperate and I came up with this. I have to thank "__THE.CAPSLOCK.QUEEN." __and "__Pernia__ Needs an Updat__e"__ for __reminding me of that quote by Dory "Just keep swimming." That was just such an adorable quote. I had to put it in._

_That part where Troy escapes the barracuda by flexing his spine when he's about to be eaten was actually inspired by what I read about the reef trigger fish's abilities. According to Wikipedia, the __humhumunukunukuapua'a__ has the ability to flex its spine to prevent it from being swallowed __by predators __or to enable__ it to squeeze through crevices to escape._


	8. Finding Troy

**Chapter**** Eight: Finding Troy**

Sharpay gasped. She shouldn't have left him. She knew from the tales of her fish friends how dangerous the ocean can be and as an unfamiliar fish, Troy was doubly vulnerable. _"He's dead?"_ she cried. _"You saw him eaten?"_

Aukai shook its head. _"No, but I saw it fleeing just a few minutes ago. That fish can swim really fast," _it said with a tone of admiration. _"There's a chance it might have escaped."_

Sharpay felt a bit hopeful. _"Where did he go?" _she asked.

But the fish never got to answer her. She was suddenly grabbed by the stomach and pulled up. Her head broke through the surface. She came face to face with Ryan.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Where's Troy?"

"I'm trying to find him!" Sharpay shouted at him angrily. "It was about to tell me when you pulled." She attempted to dive back again but her brother grabbed her firmly by the arm and refused to let go.

"Shar, stop for one moment. Just tell me where is Troy."

There was a shout from the beach. Sharpay and Ryan looked up to where Kelsi bellowed to call their attention. She was standing on the shore with Jason, Zeke and Taylor.

"We found his clothes!" Jason shouted. "Everything's here. Flashlight, shoes, shirt…" he said as he inspected the pile of disregarded clothes. "Even his… boxers?"

Gabriella and Chad swam next to them and they both stared at Sharpay in confusion.

"He's in the sea," Sharpay managed to say.

"He went skinny dipping in the sea during the storm?" asked a perplexed Chad. Gabriella arched an eyebrow at her in accusation.

Sharpay couldn't find an excuse and decided to just tell them the truth. She shook her head. "Look, I don't know how to tell you this but Troy got cursed. He was turned into a fish."

Chad, Ryan and Gabriella all gave her blank stares.

"I don't have time to explain this," she said frantically. "We need to find him before he gets eaten or lost in there. One of the fish told me he was already chased by a barracuda."

She got more blank stares. Sharpay didn't have time to explain. She wrenched her arm from Ryan's grasp and dived back down before any of them could react. There was still a chance he was alive. And though it was slim, she just had to find him.

When she got back under water however, both Aukai and Anuhea were gone. None of the fish she was introduced to was there either. She figured Ryan's, Gabriella's and Chad's presence must have frightened them away. There was nothing for her to do but to search alone.

_"Troy! I'm here!" _she shouted, hoping that she could hear him from wherever he is._ "Please if you're alive, answer me!"_

She swam forward out to deeper water. She found some schools of fish at one area near clusters of seaweed and rocks. She approached them to ask but they all swam away from her. Unlike the fish in the lake that were familiar, the ones here didn't know her so they instinctively fled at her approach.

_"Please, I need help__," _she begged them. _"Have you seen—? Have you seen—?" _She never got to finish her sentences. They all broke away as soon as she can approach them.

Finally, she needed air again so she broke through the surface to breathe. She saw that the beach was quite far now and she could hear Ryan calling out to her to come back. She ignored him and dived back down. She tried questioning each fish she encountered. But again none of the fish would tell her. Again and again she dove and it seemed a long time passed but she couldn't think of giving up. The sea looked so enormous to find just one little fish. Finally when she was just about to lose hope she heard a faint cry.

_"__Sharpay__!"_

_"Troy!" _she cried back delightfully. She turned around and strained her eyes on the water. She could see in a distance a faint movement near some growing water plants near a cluster of rocks. She moved towards it until she can make out several black fishes crowding around the rocks shouting obscenely at something.

_"Come out, come out little __humhumu__!" _

_"It's no use hiding little __humhumu__ we don't give up that easily!"_

_"__Sharpay__, if you're there, __please__ help!" _Troy screamed and Sharpay realized he was hiding between the rocks.

_"Who's __Sharpay__? Your mommy?" mocked the fish. "Mommy can't hear you anymore little __humuhumu__. Maybe we already ate her."_

Sharpay realized the danger that Troy was in and quickly swam towards the cluster of fish.

_"Shoo! Shoo!"_ she cried to the startled group. _"Leave him alone!"_

The fishes startled and made a swim for it upon seeing the large human approach. Sharpay gave them a rude expletive and one bold one retorted with equal rudeness before it swam away. She turned to Troy. He was hiding in a crack in one of the rocks.

_"They're gone. You can come out now," _she said to him gently.

He hesitated for a moment but then slowly squeezed himself out. She noticed he was very pale blue and even his gold streak faded to almost an unhealthy yellow—an indication that he was nearly frightened to death.

_"It's okay, I'm here now," _she told him as she held out a hand to him. He slowly made his way towards her hand and brushed with her skin tentatively for moment before he pressed his head against her fully in a somewhat equivalent of a desperate hug.

_"You came back for me?"_ he said as if he didn't quite believe it.

_"Of course, I wouldn't leave you here. What happened to you?"_

"_A barracuda chased me. But it found another larger fish to eat. __Sharpay__, it was horrible!" _he said shakily. Sharpay could only imagine what that sight looked like to Troy. He must be quite traumatized by now. _"And then," _he continued. _"Those other fish found me and they were mean. They said they wanted to play with me first before they ate me."_

_"The meaner ones are always in the ocean,"_ she said in a way to comfort him_. "They're not nice like the ones in the lake. But I'm here now. I won't let anything get at you again. Come on let's—" _

Her words were cut off as someone violently grabbed her by the stomach and wrenched her away.

_"SHARPAY!"_

She heard him scream her name one last time before she came up to the surface sputtering water. She turned around and came face to face with Zeke who was the one that grabbed her.

"You idiot!" she cried as she pushed at him. "I already had him!" She tried to resist his hold but then two men—she recognized them as island workers—swam next to them and helped to restrain her.

"We got her!" one of the men shouted. Sharpay heard a rotor approach and saw a small boat where Gabriella, Jason and two more of the island's workers were sitting. Sharpay realized she swam so far out to sea that they needed a boat to get to her. Ryan and Chad were swimming towards the boat nearby.

"Let me go!" Sharpay shouted. "Troy's still in there!"

The two men nodded and dived back down with Chad but Zeke held on to her and together with Ryan lifted her back on the boat.

"Sharpay, tell me what happened to Troy!" Gabriella cried frantically. "Did he drown?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No! He's there, he's alive! I've got to get back there and get him!"

Ryan sat next to her and put an arm on her shoulder. "It's okay, Shar. The men will get him for us. You just relax."

"No you don't understand. He's a—" She stopped as she saw Troy rise just below the surface near the boat. "There he is!" She ambled her way towards him while everyone looked at where she pointed.

"There's nothing there," said Zeke.

Sharpay ignored him and put her hand in the water so she could touch Troy.

_"Don't leave me here!" _Troy begged as he brushed against her hand. _"Please!"_

_"I won't!" _she shouted to him. _"I'll get you home."_

She turned to the others to ask for any container to hold him but she was met with confused stares again.

"Sharpay…" Ryan began. He had a doubtful look on his face. It was an expression that she was so familiar with. It was the look that meant he thought she was being weird again just like when they were kids.

"I'm not crazy," she told him. She pointed to a pail at the floor of the boat. "Just hand me that bucket. I need to get him."

No one moved and Sharpay felt like her childhood nightmares were starting again. But she had to make them believe this time. Troy's life was in danger.

"Troy's the fish. I need to save him."

Ryan shook his head. "Shar… this is all just in your mind… Look, I know you're upset because of Mama Liat. But you don't have to do this again. I'm here, we all are. We'll go home. I think you're just tired. Just tell us where Troy is. The men will look for him." He turned to the man operating the boat and ordered him to start up and go back to shore.

Sharpay felt disheartened. But she had to save Troy at least. "Just hand me the damn bucket!" she ordered. One of the men gave her the pail. She lowered it in the water and Troy jumped in. She scooped it up and made sure it had enough water. She held it close to her chest and peered in.

_"Are you alright?" _she whispered to him.

_"Yes, thank you."_

_"Hold on__. We'll figure this out," _she assured him though she wasn't very confident that they would. Everyone else was staring at her now as if she was insane. She knew she looked just like that to them when she was doing her fish talk. But she had to make them believe somehow.

Chad and the other two men resurfaced and everyone's attention turned to them.

"He's not there," Chad reported.

"No, he's not there," said Sharpay bitingly. "He's here," she indicated the pail. "He's the fish."

Chad got up into the boat and faced her angrily. "Look, Sharpay, this isn't funny anymore. Troy's missing so tell us where he is and not this stupid nonsense—"

"Chad!" Ryan cut him with a warning then shook his head. "Don't!" Sharpay was rather surprised at his defense and for a moment she thought that she was finally getting through her brother, but then he continued: "Look, Sharpay's not herself right now. I think we should just get her back to the house. The other men can keep looking for Troy." Sharpay knew then her brother was thinking she was turning mad again.

"But..." Gabriella began to protest but Ryan shook his head at her too and whispered something to her. Sharpay didn't need to hear what he said to know that Ryan was telling Gabriella she had psychological problems. There was no point in trying to convince any of them now.

_"They don't believe you?" _Troy asked dismally. Sharpay shook her head at him to indicate "no." She didn't want to make the situation even worse by replying in fish talk to Troy in front of everyone. She kept silent all the way back to the beach and during the walk towards the house but she kept one hand inside the bucket to stroke at Troy's tail to reassure him. That was all she could do for now.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Really short __chappie__ but I just had to update again. I promise the next one will be longer and will have a lot more __action and __Troypay__ moments. __Until next time.__ "__Glub__glub__glub__!" (__which__ is probably fish talk for Tootles!)_


	9. Go On and Kiss the Fish

**Chapter**** Nine****: Go on and Kiss the Fish**

"Sharpay, I think you should go change for a while and get some rest," said Ryan gently to her when they finally reached the house. "Let me take that fish—"

"NO!" she shouted at him as she continued to hug Troy and his bucket to her chest. "I'm keeping him with me in my room."

"O-okay… just calm down," Ryan said as if he was talking to a child. Sharpay hated being talked to like that but there was nothing she can do about it. At least Troy was safe for the moment. They needed someplace to talk in private and think this through anyway.

"I'll go up to my room. No one is to disturb me there," she commanded sharply.

Ryan merely nodded. Sharpay strode upstairs to her room and locked the door when she got in.

_"Are you alright?" _she asked Troy.

_"Just a bit dizzy on the trip.__ And I think I could use some more breathing space. This bucket is making me claustrophobic."_

_"I got just the thing," _said Sharpay. She brought him to her bathroom where she had an enormous bathtub big enough to hold four people and deep enough even for her to swim in it. It was one of the luxuries she insisted on having on the island. She quickly filled it up with water.

_"You think you can survive in fresh water?__" _she asked.

_"Well there's one way to find out. Put me in, but if I choke, put me back into bucket and then get some salt from the kitchen."_

Sharpay thought it was the best idea they could have for the moment. When the tub was full she slowly released Troy in it.

_"Are you alright?" _she asked.

_"Yeah.__ It feels good here. I could breathe in it just as fine as sea water. Is that normal for trigger fish?"_

_"No,"_ she replied. _"But you're not exactly a normal trigger fish." _

_"Yeah, you're right, it's not important anyway. We need to talk to Mama __Liat__, where is she?"_

Sharpay gave a sigh and joined him in the tub. _"We have a problem with that. Mama __Liat__ had a stroke. She's in the hospital ICU now in the mainland." _

_"What?" _gasped Troy. _"But we need her! She may be the only one who knows how to get me back."_

_"I know," _replied Sharpay sadly. _"But all we can do is __wait__ until she can talk to us. __If she will ever talk to us again."_ She thought of Mama Liat dying in that hospital and suddenly a flood of tears poured down her cheeks. She hugged her knees to herself and openly cried for her dearest nanny, the one woman that believed her.

Troy swam next to her foot and brushed his tail against her big toe. For a long time they remained silent like that, she crying softly while Troy comforting her with flicks of his tail.

_"__Sharpay__, I found out something," _said Troy finally when her tears had subsided. _"I think Mama __Liat__ isn't human."_

_"What?" _Sharpay gasped as she wiped away her tears.

And he told her what he heard from Aukai about the legend of the foolish fish who became human. Sharpay couldn't believe it, but if she thought about it now it, the story fits.

_"You know you may be right. I mean, no one knows who Mama __Liat__ really is. I mean I've never heard her mention about a family. __Only a dead husband.__ And everyone seems to remember her being here as an old woman and never as a child. And she certainly knows more about __Fufu__ more than anyone, like she's channeling him, similar to the fish."_

_"Well then we have to talk to her somehow," _said Troy. _"Maybe she can tell us where the wishing shrine is. If we can find it, then maybe we can wish me back."_

Sharpay thought about it but she remembered another thing about wishing and Fufu. _"It's a worth a shot, but don't you remember the curse? What if we do find the shrine and wished you back. But there's always a curse attached to every wish __Fufu__ grants. I mean, look what happened to you when I made a stupid wish. And if it's true that Mama __Liat__ was a fish before, she is indeed cursed to be away from her real family. Maybe… maybe there's a way to get you back without using the wishing shrine."_

_"What do you mean?_" asked Troy.

Sharpay racked her brain for the moment as she recalled the legends Mama Liat told her. So far the one similar to their circumstances was the legend of the Princess Tiki. And suddenly it struck her how easy it was. She got up from the tub.

_"I need to get a calendar," _she said. She ran to her room and found her datebook and flipped it to the date today. It was exactly as she expected it. She ran back to the tub to Troy. _"Troy, the legend of the Princess __Tiki__ is right__. Last night is __the start of the full moon. The same __period __that Prince __Humuhumunukunukuapua'a__ turned into a fish!"_

_"So that means the legend is true! I only have until the end of the full moon to break the spell"_

_"Exactly!" _said Sharpay excitedly.

_"So we have __like__ what? __Three or four days to do that?"_ He said fearfully.

_"__Three__" said __Sharpay__ as she checked the calendar. "The first one was last night so we only have today, tomorrow and the day after that. I figure we have until before sunrise of the day after tomorrow. B__ut if the legend is true, then we can break the spell easily!"_

_"How?"_

_"Well according to the legend, the spell broke when __Tiki__ kissed her cursed prince."_

_"So…?" _Troy asked rather uncertainly. _"Where do we find a pineapple princess to kiss me?"_

Sharpay rolled her eyes at him and thought his brain must have shrunk as well that he couldn't put it all together. _"Hello? I'm the daughter of a pineapple plantation owner. That makes me a pineapple princess. And even Mama __Liat__ calls me __Tiki__. It all fits."_

_"Oh yeah!" _he said. _"Well, I suppose you could just kiss me then."_

Sharpay noticed the shyness in his voice and she knew if he could blush he would be doing so now. She too felt the stirrings of a blush warm her cheeks. But she didn't hesitate to lower her head on the water to meet him with puckered lips. He felt his bony mouth touch her lips and even though it was awkward, she kept her lips in place.

_"Am I changing?"_ he asked after a few seconds of touching fish mouth to lip.

Sharpay opened her eyes. He was still a fish.

_"No. Let's try that again."_ This time she did more than just brush against his mouth. She pressed her lips on the tip and corners of his tiny jaws for half a minute. Still, nothing happened. Sharpay had to get out of the water to breathe.

_"It's not working," _Troy said desperately.

_"Well maybe we need to get really into it."_

She took a deep breath and dove back again. This time she kissed him longer and put more pressure at the side of his mouth so much she can actually taste his scaly salty body. But he remained the same. Sharpay got up again to breathe.

_"This is hopeless!" _Troy shouted in extreme frustration. _"You're not turning me back!"_

_"Oh shut up! You try making out with a fish then!"_ she said irritably.

_"Well it's not my fault I'm a fish! You made me this way but now you're disgusted. Well it's not my fault!" _He sounded really insulted and Sharpay felt guilty. Still his complaining was grilling on her nerves and she just wanted to prove she wasn't someone who was pulling away from him because she was disgusted over his current state.

_"Fine!" _she said. _"You want me to make out with you! I will!" _She took a long breath and dove down. She grabbed him and this time she took him small body in her hands and began caressing every inch of it with her lips—from his mouth down to his tail and back again. She felt him gasp when she touched a sensitive part of his gills but she didn't stop. She kept on kissing him while caressing him with her fingers.

Finally the need for air made her let him go and she pulled up to gulp in oxygen. He was still a fish. The implication of that fact weighed heavily on her. It meant she wasn't the one for him. That has to be the explanation why it didn't work. She felt tears stinging her eyelids and she fought to fight them from falling. She didn't want him to see how much that disappointed her.

But when she chanced a glance back at Troy, he saw that he wouldn't have noticed her tears. He was floating in a dazed manner. She could hear him breathing rather heavily. Suddenly, she realized what was going on with him.

_"I can't believe you!"_ she screamed at him as she slapped the water hard so that it made waves strong enough to push him to the other end of the tub. _"You're getting off on me!"_

_"Yes—I mean no!" _he sputtered guiltily. She slapped the water again and got out of the tub in disgust. Secretly though, she didn't really feel that disgusted. She had always been friends with fish since she was a child and she didn't mind their scaly nature. In fact, a naughty part of her felt a bit flattered that she can still turn Troy on even if he was a fish.

Still, she gave him a glare to torture him. She went over to her sink and made a show of grabbing her toothbrush and squeezing liberal amounts of toothpaste in it just to prove that she was sickened.

It seemed to work for he was apologetic immediately. _"__Sharpay__, I'm sorry. It's just physiological reaction. I didn't mean it!"_

Somehow hearing him say that made her feel even worse. He didn't have to rub it in that she meant nothing to him. She brushed her teeth extra hard in front of him and scrubbed her tongue three times. She just wanted to get rid of the taste of him as if by doing so she could relieve the disappointment she was feeling about herself.

_"__Sharpay__, please.__ I'm really sorry if I offended you. Please talk to me." _He sounded really frightened.

Sharpay forced herself to calm down and marched back towards him. She sat at the rim of the tub but didn't get in.

_"Get this in your head Bolton: that was the most disgusting thing I've ever done and if you ever tell anyone about it, I'm going to have you fed to a shark!" _She realized that the threat was rather senseless as soon as she said it. After all, who would Troy tell about this? She was the only who could talk to him. The other fish didn't matter. They wouldn't think the fact that she kissed one of their own kind would be interesting. But he didn't seem to realize it so she continued: _"Well that was a bad idea. It's obvious it wouldn't work on me. I'm not Gabriella."_

There was a sudden rumble of thunder and large rain drops suddenly poured down noisily on the house's ceiling like an air raid. Sharpay ignored it though and focused on Troy who didn't seem to realize the sudden change in weather at all.

_"Huh? What do you mean?" _he asked.

She gave him another glare. _"Get your head off the gutter Troy and focus on the problem here! It's obvious. The spell can't break with me because I'm not your true love. Gabriella is."_

_"Oh,"_ he said as if he just realized it. _"So let's just ask her to kiss me then." _Sharpay rolled her eyes at him and he asked: _"What?"_

She decided he really must have such a small brain now that he couldn't think of the obvious. _"Oh that will be easy to do," _she said her voice dripping with extra sarcasm. _"I could just go up to your girlfriend and tell her: 'Hey Gabriella, do a favor for me and kiss my fish.' I'm sure you're girlfriend will be dumb enough to do what I say."_

_"Well I'm sure if she knew the truth…" _he began stupidly.

_"She already thinks I'm crazy Troy! If I keep telling her you're the fish, she'll think I'm completely off my rocker!"_

There was a knock on the door and she heard Ryan call out: "Shar, please let me in. I need to talk. It's important."

_"That's Ryan outside the door. He's probably going to ask me where you are. What do I do now?"_

_"Tell him the truth!" _Troy insisted.

_"He won't believe__ me__! He never believed me. No one ever did! And Gabriella's not likely to believe me either__."_

"Shar, please!" Ryan called again.

_"Well maybe Gabriella will," _Troy said hopefully, though his tone seemed unsure.

"Shar!"

Sharpay racked her brain. And an idea suddenly came to her.

_"I got it, Troy. I'll talk to Gabriella. I'll pretend to be mean and that I'm hiding you somewhere just to spite her. I'll ask her to kiss you in exchange for information on where you are."_

_"Do you think that would work?"_

Sharpay shook her head. _"It's worth a shot. It's better than being thought of as insane. I just have to make her believe. Fortunately, I'm a pretty good actress." _

"Sharpay, please! If you don't open this door I'm going to have to break it open!"

_"Go!" _said Troy.

Sharpay immediately went to her door and flung it open. Ryan came crashing in and ended up on the floor. Sharpay suppressed a giggle as she realized she opened the door when Ryan was about to put his weight on it. He picked himself up.

"Is there any news about Mama Liat?" Sharpay cut him off before he could speak.

Ryan looked a bit relieved that she was talking sense at least, though he still eyed her carefully. "Maile called a few minutes ago. Mama Liat's in a coma. They're still observing her," he said sadly.

Sharpay fought back a sob. But she knew there was nothing she can do for her nanny but pray. She just had to work this problem alone for Troy for the moment.

"Shar, they're giving her the best of care. I'm not sparing any expense for her," Ryan choked. "But right now, I need your help. The storm's started again and the men had to pull back from looking for Troy. I need you to tell me where he is."

Sharpay put up a brave front and stared at her twin evenly. "Alright," she said a little louder so she could be heard over the sound of the rain that seemed to pour more violently by the minute. "But I need to talk to Gabriella first. Alone."

Ryan looked a bit hopeful though still uncertain. "You'll tell her?"

Sharpay nodded. "Get her for me now and I'll tell her," she said without betraying any emotion. She decided it would be better that way to prevent Ryan from getting suspicious.

"Okay, Shar, I'll get her to talk to you, but please tell her." Ryan immediately left and Sharpay headed back to the bathroom and sat at the rim of the tub.

_"Mama __Liat's__ in a coma," _she told Troy. _"We'll still have to wait for any developments. But Ryan's getting Gabriella now. I just hope this works. It's the only thing we've got for the moment."_

_"Yeah, it will," _he said though she knew he was just trying to be optimistic.

"Sharpay!" Gabriella called out. She sounded quite frantic.

"I'm in the bathroom. Close my door and come here," Sharpay ordered.

Gabriella quickly appeared. She looked quite distraught that Sharpay couldn't help but feel guilty about what she was about to do. "Please Sharpay, tell me where he is."

Sharpay put her chin up and pasted on her superior pout before standing up to stare at her threateningly. "Calm down, Gabriella. Troy's safe."

"Then where is he? If you've done something to him—"

Sharpay stopped Gabriella's sentence with one of her famous icy stares that told the other person how pathetic she was to Sharpay. "Your boyfriend's safe and sound. But if you want to see him, I want you to do something for me first."

Gabriella shrank back and Sharpay hoped her plan was working. She just needed to frighten the girl hard enough to submission. "W-what do you mean? What have you done to him?"

"Oh nothing," Sharpay said as she circled Gabriella like a vulture. "He's quite comfy where he is. In fact he's so comfortable he might not want to come back to you so soon. But I can convince him otherwise. That is if you do one tiny thing for me."

Sharpay expected Gabriella to shrink even further. But instead her eyebrows shot up. "Are you holding him hostage?!" she cried.

Sharpay didn't let Gabriella's rising tone faze her. "Call it whatever you want. But the bottom line is you're not going to see Troy for the rest of your vacation here until you do what I want."

"You witch!" Gabriella screamed. "I knew you have something planned up your sleeve. You can't get away with this!"

Sharpay just gave her one of her evil giggles. Truthfully, she was quite enjoying Gabriella shout. The girl was sickeningly dull. She didn't know what Troy saw in her. It was about time she showed some emotion. "You can scream all you want but you're not seeing Troy until you do what I tell you."

"What then?" she asked.

"It's a simple matter really." Sharpay gave her a thin smile as she pointed to the tub. "I want you to kiss my fish."

Gabriella stared at her, confused. "What?"

"My fish," repeated Sharpay. "I want you to kiss it. Just one little kiss and you'll have Troy back."

Gabriella looked from her to Troy and her face contorted to disgust. "What kind of sick joke is that?!"

Sharpay expected this kind of resistance but she just had to keep her act. Gabriella was a push over. She's easy enough to frighten. "Nothing," she said evily. "It just gives me pleasure to watch you do it. Go on Gabriella, kiss the fish. It's not that hard. It won't bite."

But Gabriella shook her head, her face still contorted in abject horror at the sight of Troy. "You're sick, you know that!"

Alright, so frightening Gabriella can't make her get over her disgust for fish. Sharpay decided a guilt trip was in order. "Call me what you want, but just kiss the fish. If you really love Troy you'll do it."

Gabriella stepped away from the tub as if just being near the fish unnerved her. "No! I'm not kissing your hideous fish! But you're going to tell me where Troy is right now!"

Sharpay sighed inwardly. Gabriella being stubborn was something she hadn't counted on. She crossed her arms across her chest in an effort to look threatening. "Well I'm not saying a word until you do. If you really cared about Troy, you'll do what I say. It's not going to cost you anything. I won't even tell anyone what you did. It's just the two of us here. So go on and kiss him!"

She shouted the last phrase in her frustration, but Gabriella didn't appear frightened at all. She faced Sharpay with a furious look in her eyes. "I'm not going to give you that satisfaction!" she said before she bellowed: "RYAN!"

Ryan came bursting into the room in a second with all the rest of their friends in tow.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"She's sick that's what!" spat Gabriella. She sounded just like a five-year-old that lost her candy to her playmate and went to tattle to an adult to defend her. "She says she's keeping Troy until I…" she made an unpleasant face. "Kiss her stupid fish."

Jason and Zeke chuckled. "Oh nice one, you two. Wonderful practical joke—" muttered Zeke but Gabriella cut them both with a glare to point out that she wasn't joking at all. She turned to Ryan to appeal for intervention.

"Look, Shar," he said gently as if he was choosing what to say to her. "If this is a joke, fine. We all think it's funny. But we're really worried about Troy now. Just tell us where he is."

Sharpay shook her head. How could she get through to them without letting them think she was crazy? "Look, I'll tell you after Gabriella kisses the fish," she replied nastily. She hoped the icy act could still work.

"And I won't do it!" Gabriella insisted. "Look Sharpay, enough is enough! This isn't funny!" Gabriella said it with so much ferocity that Sharpay actually stepped back out of fear that Gabriella would try to scratch her eyes out.

Ryan however, got between them and gave Sharpay a pleading look. "Shar, look this is serious. The joke was fun while it lasted, but I need you to stop now and tell me where Troy is."

Sharpay felt dismayed. Her plan wasn't working. But she couldn't tell them the truth either. It would be much worse for her. "There's nothing you can say that can make me tell you," she told her brother. "Gabriella just has to kiss the fish. It's as simple as that."

"Shar…" warned Ryan in a way that told her he was losing patience.

"I'm not taking anything less," Sharpay continued in her most intimidating voice. She hoped that could make her twin crack. But apparently Ryan wasn't that easy to frighten anymore. His tone suddenly changed and he became equally threatening.

"Sharpay, I've had it with you! I already called Mom and Dad and they'll be here tonight at the earliest if the storm lets them. I also called Coach Bolton. He's already frantic enough. If you don't tell us where Troy is he's going to fly here by tonight as well. So just stop with the joke. It's hurting a lot of people already! Tell me, where is Troy?!"

Sharpay took a step back. She knew she had lost. There was no way she could get Gabriella to kiss Troy this way. She finally dropped her fake expression. "I can't."

"Can't? OR WON'T?!" screamed Gabriella.

"I can't," Sharpay insisted. "You wouldn't believe me if I did."

Taylor suddenly came forward and stopped just inches from her face. "Listen here, you bitch. We want the truth now. Where's Troy or help me, I'll make you sorry you were even born!"

Sharpay involuntarily stepped back again and found that she had no more room to step back. She slipped and almost fell into the tub. She sat at the rim and looked at Troy for help.

_"__Sharpay__, just tell them the truth!" _

_"I can't!" _she replied.

_"Explain it to them. They have to listen!"_

_"They won't!"_

"Sharpay! Stop making that pretend fish talk. I'm talking to you!" And Sharpay found herself face to face with a threatening Taylor again. She knew then she had no choice but follow Troy.

"Alright," she said dejectedly. "I know it's hard to believe, but Troy's in this room."

Everyone suddenly began glancing around the bathroom. Jason even went over to check her empty shower stall. Sharpay heaved a sigh and braced herself for their reaction to what she was going to say next.

"He's in the tub," she uttered.

There was a moment of silence. And then Gabriella erupted:

"SHARPAY ENOUGH! I'M TIRED OF YOUR CRUEL GAMES! ONCE AND FOR ALL WHERE IS HE OR I'LL… I'LL…" Her eyes flew wildly about the room as if searching for a threat. Her gaze settled on Troy and Sharpay saw a split-second gleam rose in her eyes. "I'LL KILL YOUR STUPID FISH!" Before Sharpay could react, Gabriella grabbed a large plastic bottle of bubble bath and used it to hit Troy's head.

"NO!" Sharpay screamed as she jumped into the tub in an effort to shelter Troy from his rampaging girlfriend. For a moment everything was confusion. Water splashed in all directions as Gabriella tried to pound on Troy with the bottle while Sharpay did her best to block her and keep Troy safe. Troy was screamed incoherently and it heightened Sharpay's terror that Gabriella could have fatally injured him.

Finally Gabriella was pulled away by Ryan and Zeke. Sharpay stared around at the tub frantically. _"Troy! Troy! Are you alright?"_

She felt him brush against her knee. _"I-I'm fine! J-just shaken!" _he gasped. _"She almost got my head. I think my fin hurts a bit."_

She peered at him closely and touched him with gentle fingers. There was a bit a bruise on one of his fins but it wasn't deep. _"You'll be alright! I won't let her hurt you again," _she assured him.

She looked back up and found herself staring at her bewildered friends. Gabriella was still being held back by Zeke. She was dripping wet but she gave Sharpay a glare that matched one of Sharpay's better ones.

Sharpay made one last bid to explain. "I'm not lying anymore, alright! Troy got cursed and became a fish. Gabriella, I need you to kiss him to break the spell…" she gave a sigh but finally swallowed her pride. "Please…" she finally uttered after a huge effort.

Gabriella just wrenched herself away from Zeke's gasp and stared at her with deep-seated hate. "I won't do it! I'll kill that fish first!" She made a move for Troy again and this time Sharpay was ready. She blocked the path towards the tub.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Sharpay shouted and she pushed Gabriella back with such desperate force that the other girl slipped and fell back on her bum with a solid thump on the hard bathroom tiles.

"Sharpay, stop!" cried Ryan as he put himself in front of her.

"I'm not the one who's attacking!" Sharpay complained though she was worried Gabriella might have been seriously hurt. But then she saw from the corner of her eye how her brother nodded to Kelsi. The smaller girl ran out of the room. Sharpay felt suddenly afraid. She stared at her brother with wonder at what he was about to do. Two large women suddenly came in the room and Sharpay suddenly didn't need an answer.

"Ryan?" she asked fearfully as she stared between him and the approaching two women. One was holding something in her hands. She didn't need to see it to know what it was. She'd experience this so many times already.

"Shar… you're just confused right now," said Ryan in the awfully calm way. "You need to relax."

Sharpay shook her head at him desperately. She felt tears stinging her eyes and this time she couldn't fight them back anymore. They flowed freely down her cheeks. "Ryan, please don't do this to me. You've got to listen. I'm not lying! I'm not crazy!"

_"__Sharpay__, what's going on?" _Troy asked fearfully. _"What is he doing?"_

"Shar… it's okay. This if for your own good," continued Ryan in that hauntingly passive way. At the same time the women advanced on her. She could see the syringe one of them was holding. Sharpay shrank back into the water and she felt Troy shrink near her.

_"__Sharpay__, what are they going to do?" _he said fearfully.

Sharpay didn't have time to answer back. She was seized by the arms. She struggled to pull away, splashing water at all sides. "Ryan! Don't! Please! Don't do this!"

But Ryan just stared at her with pitiful eyes. She looked around at her other friends but everyone else was giving her the same sad look. She continued to struggle but one of the women had her arms locked behind her back. "RYAN PLEASE!" she screamed desperately before she felt the needle pierce her arm.

She felt her vision cloud and her muscles sag. The familiar feeling of lightness began to invade her head.

_"__Sharpay__ Oh my God! __Sharpay__! What have they done! __Sharpay__! Stay with me please!"_

Troy's voice grew faint. She fought the drug now circulating in her system, as she remembered that Troy might be in danger from Gabriella again once she fell unconscious.

"Troy! The fish! Ryan, don't hurt him! Please! Don't let anyone hurt him! Ry—"

She felt herself succumb to the lightness and she knew no more.

* * *

_**A/N:**__I hope you don't hate me for putting Troy and __Sharpay__ into that situation. I really do like them but then again the path of true love never really runs smooth. __And if it went so smooth sailing for then, we won't have a story. __They're going to have to go through a lot more troubles __in the future._

_Thanks again for all you faithful readers and wonderful reviewers. I really enjoy all your feedback even if it's just to tell me you enjoyed the chapter._

_About the full moon period. I know a full moon period is around 11 days before the last quarter. But I just counted on the time that moon appears as full. That's usually around three days. Besides, I want Troy's dilemma to be similar to Ariel's from the Little Mermaid. Remember? She's given three days to be kissed by her true love. You can actually tell where the title of this chapter got inspired from._


	10. Hell and Heaven in a Tub

**Chapter**** Ten: Hell and Heaven in a Tub**

Troy watched in horror as the two huge women grasped Sharpay roughly. She struggled, kicking and screaming with all her might. Troy couldn't understand her, but he could read her lips and he could discern every other word. He knew she was pleading with all her might to her brother to stop doing this to her. But Troy saw how Ryan just stood there without doing anything. His other friends remained as passive as he. He noticed that Gabriella even had a triumphant look on her face as if she was enjoying watching Sharpay suffering like this. Troy couldn't believe this was the same sweet girl he dated for two years. There was certainly nothing sweet about her when she attempted to pound him with a bottle of bubble bath earlier. She was deliriously mad with fury. Troy couldn't find any other words to describe it.

He swam next to Sharpay in a panicked effort to protect her. But what can a small fish do compared to two huge women who had Sharpay in a vicious grip? He saw one of them press a syringe to her arm and she immediately lowered her defenses. The two women let her go and she sagged down into the tub, her chin to the surface of the water. Troy swam next to her face and he could see through her expression that she was struggling to fight the effects of whatever sedative they put on her.

_"__Sharpay__ Oh my God! __Sharpay__! What have they done! __Sharpay__! Stay with me please!" _he cried.

Sharpay attempted to raise herself and she uttered something frantic. He caught the words "Troy" and "don't hurt" from her lips before her eyelids finally closed. He realized her final cry was a plea to protect him.

He watched helplessly as the two women fished her out of the tub and carried her away like a limp doll.

And then he was staring up at Ryan. He could hear Gabriella saying something in the background and the tone of her voice made him shiver. Was Gabriella going to have him killed? But then Ryan answered back to her and he caught the words "leave it" from his lips before he moved away from Troy's line of vision. He heard footsteps shuffling out the bathroom then the sounds of water running in the shower. He knew the women were scrubbing Sharpay clean. At the same time he heard a loud pounding somewhere beyond the bathroom like someone hammering in nail on wood. It went on for a long time and ended by the time Sharpay was taken out of the shower. He had one last view of her wrapped in a towel and carried out of the bathroom like a helpless child. Then the door closed and he was left all alone.

For a long moment he was left to ponder in silence. He realized the rain outside subsided again without him noticing it. Sunlight was beginning to filter through the windows so Troy had enough light to see, though admittedly he didn't need it with his kind of vision. He swam around the tub in an effort to calm his furiously beating heart. Somehow, the exercise felt good, the same way a sprint around the oval track felt like whenever he was distraught. And he couldn't feel more distraught than now. When his heart slowed to a manageable pace, he began to think. What was he to do now? Sharpay was now unconscious and unable to help him. And even if she was able to, everyone would still think she was insane so she couldn't do much.

He shook his head to get rid of the horrid images of what just happened but they keep coming up in his mind. Those moments when Sharpay was struggling against the women that were trying to sedate her disturbed him even more than the experience of seeing his girlfriend attempting to pound him to a pulp with a bottle or watching a large fish eat another one alive. Sharpay looked so scared in a way that he had never seen her before. He wondered if she had experienced similar treatment in the past. Didn't Ryan tell them Sharpay had been to therapy for years? That she became violent? It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. He could just imagine Sharpay as a little girl being man-handled like that and forcibly sedated whenever she threw a tantrum when a fish was served to her at dinner. He had seen how she tried desperately to make others believe her in the boat when she tried to rescue him. And no one did believe her.

He couldn't really blame his friends. After all, it was a pretty far-fetched story and if he were in their shoes and Sharpay came to him with a story that Chad turned into a fish, he wasn't likely to believe her either. He began to wonder: was this how Sharpay's life went on? That she was cursed with this unique gift that she could never share with anyone or else she was branded as insane. He couldn't ever imagine living a life like that.

He continued to ponder about everything that happened for there was nothing much to do. He realized that life in a fish bowl must be a pretty boring thing. There was no where to go and nothing to do. And as the day wore on, he realized another complication to this kind of trapped life. No food. He would be dependent on what humans can give him. And as the only human that actually cared about him was out cold and unable to help him, he had to go hungry. No wonder Sharpay got mad at him when he kept Goldie in a bowl.

Troy let sleep overtake him to forget his troubles. It wasn't that hard for he was exhausted by the day's events.

He was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening and footsteps noisily coming in the other room. It was pitch dark though he could still see fairly well. He knew it was nighttime now. His stomach grumbled violently and he thought maybe he was going to starve to death.

The bathroom door suddenly opened and someone flicked on the light that illuminated the whole room. He heard footsteps approach. Fear overtook him again. Was somebody coming to kill him? If so, then he didn't have to starve to death. That was a small comfort that was no comfort at all.

A shadow loomed above and he looked up to find Ryan towering above him. For a long uncertain moment he wondered if this was his last moment on earth when Ryan suddenly tossed something into his water. It floated for a moment and he wondered curiously what it was. He was so hungry it looked good enough to eat. Against his will, he nibbled at it and to his surprise it was edible.

_Bread! _He thought joyously before gorging on it hungrily. Ryan tossed him food! For a moment, he could do nothing but eat. But then he stopped a moment as he realized Ryan was watching him. Troy stared back.

_"Ryan, __it's__ Troy!" _he shouted. _"Please believe __Sharpay__! I'm the fish!"_

But Ryan didn't react. He just kept staring with a sad expression on his face. Finally, he stepped away and Troy heard him leave the room. Troy could do nothing more so he continued eating at his bread. The chunk was so big, he couldn't finish it. He thought to save some for later in case he went hungry again.

When he had his fill, he began to think again. What to do? What to do? Well, there really wasn't anything he can do at the moment, at least not without Sharpay's help. He began to think that maybe Sharpay would never come back. Maybe they took her away to some mad house. He will have to live the remainder of his life here in this tub, dependent on Ryan to feed him occasionally when he remembered. The thought just made him feel depressed and he could feel the hopelessness settling in again.

He shook himself. _Don't think about that, Troy, _he told himself. _Don't or you'll die here even sooner than you want. Think positive. Think nice thoughts. Think of __Sharpay_

The last idea brightened him. But this time he didn't think of Sharpay struggling with those women, but what happened earlier than that. He imagined again how she came to him from out of the ocean and rescued him. She had come all the way back just to find him. And then he thought about what happened later in the tub when they tried to figure this all out. He smiled inwardly remembering how she kissed him… then did more than that.

He recalled the sensation. He had never been touched that way and it was unexpected. But he felt completely aroused when she touched him with her lips on a sensitive part of him. But more than the sexual, he felt completely safe with her. Her touch was always so gentle and every time he made contact with her skin he felt so much more alive and reassured.

It struck him as a funny that he always thought Sharpay, the ice queen would not be bold enough to touch a fish. She did seem like the kind that would shrink at something that smelled or felt funny. The way she never hesitated to touch him made him feel good despite everything that happened.

In contrast, Gabriella positively recoiled at the idea of even being near him. Well, he was a fish and that should be understandable. But Troy couldn't help but feel hurt that she rejected him that way. And it led him to wonder whether Gabriella would even look his way if she met him when he was only nine years old.

The rest of East High had long ago forgotten it, but Troy still remembered that time as his awkward phase. Back then he was overweight, had huge glasses, big braces and was generally picked on and called nasty names by the other kids.

These thoughts kept running on his head until he grew tired of them. He let himself fall asleep again and he began to dream…

_Troy trudged down the corridor pass a couple of girls sighing over some magazine or some other nonsense. Chad clapped him on the back and he turned around to give a secret handshake to his best friend. At the same time, the group of girls started giggling again. Chad rolled his eyes at them._

_"Stupid girls," Chad mumbled loudly. Unfortunately he said a little too loud and one black girl with hair in braids who hung back a little away from the rest of the group glared at him. Chad glared back._

_Troy pulled his best friend away before Chad erupted into another word war with Taylor __Mckessie__. Chad didn't need another detention. It was the last day of school and Troy wanted to spend it with his best friend out of school as soon as the final bell rang._

_"That Taylor thinks she's so smart," mumbled Chad as he lazily scratched the top of his big hair. _

_Troy pushed his thick glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. "Well she is really. I mean she's on top of our class."_

_"Bet that's the only thing she'll ever get on top of. Frankly, she's just pathetic trying to hang on to those cheerleaders hoping they'll take her in. But she'll never get on top of any pyramid, not unless she's the mascot," laughed Chad._

_Troy squinted and stared at Taylor who looked a bit out of place beside the other girls. He had to agree with Chad but he pitied Taylor just the same. Taylor was the kind of girl that wanted to be "in" with the popular girls but can never be one of them. The cheerleaders let her hang around them of course because she was useful when they needed help with homework. But she would never be truly accepted as one of the "cool" girls._

_Just like he and Chad would never be accepted as one of the popular boys either. But Chad was always the optimistic one. He was convinced they would have their time soon._

_Chad nudged him and that got him out of his reverie. "Hey, basketball tryouts are on for next year," he said as he pointed to the reminder on the bulletin board._

_Troy smiled. He had been looking forward to becoming part of the basketball varsity team for a long time. It was only open to fifth graders and up and by next year he and Chad were finally qualified to join the team. _

_"You think we'll get in?" Troy asked unsurely. He was still a bit nervous with that. His father expected him to get into the East Elementary School basketball team as soon as he was old enough. It was drilled on him since he was a toddler. _

_"Of course we will," said Chad. "We're better than those losers on the team anyway. Next year's our year, Troy. After this summer, things are going to change for us. We'll get into the team and we'll be one of those guys..."_

_Troy thought he didn't really want to be one of 'those guys.' 'Those guys' were the varsity jocks, the most popular kids in school. And they were the jerks that picked on him since the day he got braces in first grade. It was bad enough his parents found his eyesight was bad and they made him wear really thick glasses to compensate. But the following year, they also discovered he also had really bad teeth so they had him fitted with braces. Unfortunately, the braces weren't the simple fittings inside his mouth. Several metal wires ran from his teeth to the back of his neck forming a sort of odd collar. The day he walked to school wearing it, he was branded as the "Bionic Bolton." It made him and Chad (who had been teased for years because of his thick unruly hair) as the butt of school jokes by most of the older jocks in school._

_Troy looked forward to the day he would get these braces off. His orthodontist promised the collar would at least come off this coming summer though he still needed to wear a more inconspicuous brace for another two years. "Well I'll get most of these," he said indicating his collar brace. "Off by the summer and Dad finally got a loan to get me a laser eye surgery."_

_"Yeah and you'll finally join the rest of us who can actually see," joked Chad. "Hey __wanna__ gorge at the food court later after practice?"_

_Troy shook his head. "Sorry, but my Dad's putting me on a diet. He thinks I eat too much."_

_"You're a growing boy, you have to eat," said Chad as he grabbed a chocolate bar from his pocket and munched on it. _

_Troy stared at it enviously but he didn't dare ask Chad for a piece. His father had strict orders: only fruit and vegetables for snacks. No junk foods. __Besides, he couldn't really eat chocolate without taking off his braces first and that alone was quite a challenge every lunch time._

_He turned away from Chad to avoid the temptation but came face to face with an even worse sight. __Jeremy Cross—popular boy extraordinaire and captain of the basketball team__ stood by the row of lockers surrounded by his posse. Troy tried to pull Chad away to go to the other direction but Chad was too busy munching happily on his chocolate._

_"… and by next year when we're on the basketball team, we need all the sugar we can get…" Chad droned on loudly._

_Jeremy looked up and headed their way to Troy's dismay._

_"What's that you say mop head?" Jeremy called out. Both Chad and Troy froze._

_"N-nothing," said Chad but Jeremy rounded on him and snatched his chocolate bar away._

_"It didn't sound like nothing to me," said Jeremy. "What's this I hear that you and Bionic Bolton here are actually dreaming of getting on the team?" He turned to Troy who shrank back fearfully at the larger boy. "Well my team doesn't have an opening for fat little metal freaks like you." Jeremy eyed him haughtily then dangled Chad's half-eaten chocolate bar at him. "So just forget it fat boy. Here, just shove this in like the little piggy that you are." And before Troy could react Jeremy smashed the chocolate on his mouth and pushed him hard. The chocolate smeared his braces and splattered across his nose and glasses. _

_Troy staggered back as Jeremy stepped away and laughed with the rest of his teammates. Troy stared around and noticed the other students around him were also laughing as if what Jeremy did was the funniest thing that ever happened in the world. Only Chad remained silent by his side but he seemed too frozen in terror or in embarrassment to do anything else._

_Slowly he wiped the chocolate from his face with the back of his hand, but it just kept on spreading._

_"Here!" He was surprised when a clean pink handkerchief was handed to him. He turned around and saw __Sharpay__ Evans behind him offering her little pink hanky. Troy was too surprised by the gesture to accept__, s__o she began wiping his face herself._

_"Don't mind them," she said shyly to him. "I think you'll be great in the team." She paused and fished a small white envelope from her__ little pink bag__. "I-I __wanna__ give you this, b-before the school ends," she stammered as she handed him the envelope._

_"T-thank you," Troy muttered before Jeremy's voice cut him off._

_"Bionic Bolton's got a girlfriend?" the basketball captain teased as he made his way back to him. Suddenly he snatched the envelope __Sharpay__gave __him. "And what's this?" He opened it and revealed a homemade card decorated with hearts made of pink glitters. "A love__ letter__?" he laughed._

_"Give it back!" __Sharpay__ demanded. "It's not yours!"_

_"Oh I'll give it back," taunted the sixth grader. "After we know what's inside. " He turned open the card and began to read in a voice loud enough for the whole corridor of students to hear. "Dear Troy, I hope you'll have a good summer. I'm going to spend it in the island again and I won't be seeing you, but I'll think of you when I'm there. I think you're the coolest guy in school and I really like you. Will you be my prince? Love, __Sharpay__."_

_Sharpay__ blushed bright red to the roots of her hair and seemed closed to tears, but Jeremy only smirked at her. _

_"__Awww__, that's so sweet. You've got an admirer! You're so well suited for each other. Bionic Bolton and Odd Ball Evans! It's a match made in heaven. You can get married and make a living as a freak act. She can talk to fish while you can terrorize people." _

_The whole corridor exploded in laughter again and Troy never felt so humiliated in his life. It was bad enough he was being made fun of on his own. But __having the weird Evans __girl crushing on him and having the school know about it made it ten times worst._

_"Why don't you give her a kiss then?" taunted Jeremy. __"Oh I forgot, you can't!__ She'll get __her __tongue entangled by the wires in your mouth." _

_The school bell thankfully rang and Jeremy shoved the card into Troy's hand __then __walked away laughing with his posse. The other students began to move away but there were still some the hung back curious as to what Troy would do. Troy noticed __Sharpay__ was eyeing the floor in embarrassment. He wanted to comfort her but he was just too embarrassed by what other people would say. He dropped the card on the floor and walked away to join Chad. He didn't look back but he __watched__ her __form __reflected on the glass of the bulletin board ahead of him. He saw her pick up the fallen card from the floor and slowly walked away in the opposite directi__on. Her shoulders hunched sadly and he couldn't help but feel guilty…_

_"TROY!"_

Troy startled awake. He saw through the sunlight filtering in through the windows that it was morning again. He wondered how many hours had passed, or maybe even days. He recalled the images that he saw just moments ago. He realized the dream was an almost forgotten event in his past. It was one of those unpleasant memories of his childhood that he thought he had buried away. But now they came back as clear as yesterday and he focused one aspect of the dream: Sharpay.

Ever since he was nine, he regarded Sharpay as someone irritatingly annoying. Even after they outgrew their awkward phases the following year and became two of the most popular kids in school, he felt she was a bit of a nuisance. And it only intensified when they were in high school when she actively pursued him. He thought Sharpay liked him because he was a kind of trophy boy. But now that he remembered, he realized Sharpay liked him even before he was considered desirable by most of the girls in school. It was a strangely flattering idea that she saw something in him even when he was in his flabby, hideous stage.

_"TROY!"_

The panicked shout startled him. He realized that the last shout wasn't a part of his dream. It was real. The bathroom door flung open and to his immense relief Sharpay's face appeared above him and he remembered what happened previously to her.

_"Troy, you're still here!" _she cried happily.

_"__Sharpay__ What happened? Did they hurt you?" _he asked with deep concern.

Sharpay's answer was to jump into the tub in her white cotton pajamas. She submerged herself completely and held out her hands to him. He swam to her, too ecstatic for words and brushed his tail across her cheek. She giggled and rubbed her nose against the side of his body. He could feel warmth from her radiating to him and he realized how good it felt to be completely alive and in this tub with her after that long agonizing ordeal.

She gave him one last gentle brush of her nose before she sat up with her head above the water. _"I was afraid they would kill you," _Sharpay told him. _"You must be starving by now."_

_"Ryan tossed me some bread sometime ago. I was able to eat that."_

_"Did he?" _she asked in delightful surprise. _"Oh thank goodness! That was really nice of him to think of you. But now I'm really starving." _She got up from the tub. _"I'll be right back with the food they left for me. I saw a tray next to my bed when I woke up."_

She was gone for only a few seconds. She came back with the tray and got back in the tub before she started eating what looked like several sandwiches. He had never seen Sharpay eat this much, but then again he remembered she hadn't eaten since the bonfire. That must have been two days at least since she was sedated for much of the time.

_"You want some?" _she asked, indicating the bread. Troy nodded and Sharpay crumbled a part of her sandwich for him. He too realized that he was hungry. The bread was good but the algae he had for breakfast yesterday tasted better.

Finally she finished up all her food and she got up from the tub. _"I'm still hungry,"_ she said. _"I'd better go get some more. Stay here, I'll be back in a minute."_

But she came back only after five seconds. _"They locked me in," _she reported as she slumped back into the tub. _"They must have nailed in a new lock sometime last night. It figures they'd do it. __Again."_

Troy realized that was the hammering sound he heard after she was drugged. And Sharpay just confirmed his suspicions that she was treated like this before. _"You've been locked in your room before?"_

She didn't answer, just stared ahead as if in deep thought. And suddenly she hugged her knees to herself and burst into tears.

_"__Sharpay__, what's wrong?" _he asked.

_"What's wrong?!" _she cried without looking at him. _"Everything's wrong! You're a fish and it's __all my__ fault! I can't even break the damn spell! And now it's happening again to me! They'll send me to those doctors again. They'll all think I'm crazy just because I can talk to fish!"_

Troy let her cry. He wished there was some way to make her feel better but he too was at a lost.

_"Do they think I wanted this?!" _she continued to sob. _"I hate it! If I could just be normal like everyone else, I would be! Do any of them know how hard it is to ignore it when a fish talks to them? __To pretend to not hear it?__ To turn deaf ears whenever I encounter a fish in an aquarium pleading to be set free? I never wanted this! I never wanted this blasted gift!"_

Troy brushed against her leg. It was the only thing he could think of to comfort her. But he suddenly had a puzzling idea. _"Why do you have it then?" _he asked. _"Did you wish for it? Just like Mama __Liat__ in the wishing shrine?"_

She shook her head. _"I never __wished for anything like this. I only wished for a prince that can understand me when I was nine. Mama __Liat__ told me this ability is a gift from __Fufu__ because he blesses me. She was wrong. It's a curse."_

_"But when did you have the ability then? Were you born with it?"_

_"Maybe," _she shrugged as she finally pulled her head away from her knees to sniffle_. "Or at least I had it by the time I was four. I only noticed it then. It was the day my sister Lucy died." _She appeared to think for a while. _"It was actually in this room that I found out. This was Lucy's before. She really loved fish." _Sharpay paused and a smile lit her face at Troy figured was probably a nice memory of her older sister.

_"I came here crying after Mom and Dad told me Lucy had gone away and was never coming back to play with me anymore. Lucy had several fish in large aquariums here in her bathroom. And suddenly her fish started talking to me. They told me creatures we love always go away and never come back but you'll always find someone else to be your friend. And they wanted to be mine because Lucy always treated them so well. They asked to be set free, so I did. I let them go in the lake the next time my Dad took me there with Ryan."_

_"So you could talk to all the fish then?"_

_"Yes, they were really the only true friends I had." _Troy felt the sadness in her voice.

_"I'm your friend __Sharpay__," _he said. She smiled back at him and touched his bruised fin as a show of appreciation. She blinked her eyes and he knew she was fighting hard not to let him see that she was touched by what he said.

_"You know," _he said to relieve her of awkwardness. _"Ryan mentioned that Mama __Liat__ told him Lucy asked __Fufu__to give her the ability to talk to fish. Do you think that's why you have the ability? I think Mama __Liat__ mentioned that Lucy found the wishing shrine but Ryan doesn't believe it. Is it really true?"_

_"I don't know, maybe. But if Lucy wished it, she would have the ability, not me. And she can't help tell us where the wishing shrine is either, she's dead—" _She stopped suddenly and her mouth fell open. _"Oh God Troy, I just realized it now. She did find the wishing shrine. And she made a wish to be able to talk to fish. But she didn't wish it on her, she wished it on me!"_

_"What do you mean?" _Troy asked.

Sharpay didn't answer but got out of the tub and rushed to her room. He heard her opening drawers and she appeared a moment later with an old small envelope in her hands. She opened it to reveal a yellowing birthday card.

_"This is the last card Lucy gave me before she died. It was for my 4__th__ birthday. I couldn't read it on my own until much later but I've always kept it." _She turned it open to read it: _"Happy Birthday, little __Tiki__! Hope you like the card and the shell necklace present! I made it myself though it's not very good. But I promise you'll get another very special present from me when I finally go away forever. __Lots of love, Lucy."_

She closed the card and put it away where it won't get wet. _"I've always wondered what she meant by another present. I thought maybe it was her fish. But it's not. It's the ability to talk to fish!"_

_"You mean she wished for you to have the ability as a birthday present?" _asked Troy.

_"It's possible," _replied Sharpay. _"But more likely she thought it was a parting gift. She knew she was dying so maybe she didn't wish it for herself. She wished it to happen to me because I was her favorite sibling! She was only ten years old then. Maybe she thought I would like it."_

Troy thought that made sense. So Sharpay had been a victim too of a well-intentioned wish that went bad. And now she had to suffer for it for the rest of her life. He wondered if Mama Liat knew that and if so, why didn't she tell Sharpay the truth?

_"I suppose it's not all bad," _Sharpay continued_. "I mean I did have a lot of fish friends and I wouldn't have had them if I couldn't talk to them. I even made friends with some of the grandchildren of Lucy's original fish in the lake yesterday. They were the ones that helped lead me back into the cave. Do you remember? I can never really find the entrance to it in that dark. I always have one of the fish lead the way. I'm not as good with direction underwater the way Lucy was."_

Troy did remember. She was speaking in those weird noises and he came to realize now that she was talking fish and asking for help to be led in and out of the cave. He remembered how difficult it was to get to that cave.

Suddenly it clicked on his head. A cave that's difficult to find? Almost impossible to get to. Wasn't that how Ryan described the wishing shrine?

_"__Sharpay__ It's the cave!"_

_"What?"_

_"The cave.__ Your secret cave in the lake! __What if that's the wishing shrine?!"_

Sharpay stared at him open mouthed. _"Troy you're right! I never realized it! __Fufu__ turned you into a fish because I made a wish—in the cave! He grants anyone who finds the cave one wish. But Troy you've been there too! That means he'll grant you one wish as well."_

_"I can wish myself back!" _he cried happily. _"All I have to do is go back into the cave and wish for it!"_

But Sharpay's smile faded. _"Wait! Troy, it's not that simple. Do you remember the condition of the wish? It always carries a curse. What if you did wish to go back but it backfires and you end up in a worse situation than before?"_

Troy thought about it. He remembered what Aukai had said about the moral of the story of the foolish fish: Never make a wish. It's the only way to ensure your own safety. He thought of Mama Liat trapped in a human body for the rest of her life, cut off from the rest of her race. And then he thought of himself as the victim of Sharpay's innocent wish. He could only imagine what horrors he might encounter if he did make a wish. The fact that the outcome was unknown made it seem a lot scarier.

_"So what do we do then?"_ he asked.

Sharpay sighed. _"I suppose the wishing cave should be just a last resort. I don't want to use it if there was another way to get you back. I hate to admit it, but I think Gabriella is still our best bet to break the spell."_

Somehow the idea of appealing to Gabriella to kiss him sounded quite unattractive now. He could still picture her clearly trying to pound him with a bottle. He wasn't too keen to let himself open for another opportunity to be murdered by his own girlfriend.

_"How do we do that?" _he asked.

Sharpay leaned back into the tub, her face to the ceiling in deep thought. He couldn't help but eye her neck arched in that way revealing her glistening skin dripping with little droplets of water that fell down to the low neckline of her pajama top. From there, her white cotton top was completely soaked so it clung to the skin of her breasts. He could actually see the outline underneath for she wasn't wearing a bra.

He knew that if he was human he would be so turned on right now at the sight of her. But as a fish, his hormones didn't seem to be working the same way. If there was such a thing as fish hormones to begin with, he didn't know exactly.

He felt her hand drop into the water near him and he brushed against her skin. She responded by tickling him on the side with her index finger. It felt nice to be touched this way and he playfully kept on flicking his tail against her. In turn she stroked his tail and fins absently. She touched another sensitive part of him and his cold blood shot up the same way it felt when she kissed him earlier. But he kept silent and enjoyed it, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Involuntarily he gasped. But he tried to hide it with a laugh. She giggled in return.

_"Are you ticklish?" _she said teasingly. And then she was tickling him deliberately so that his body jerked uncontrollably as he tried to squirm away from her.

_"__Sharpay__, stop!" _he cried between giggles. But Sharpay didn't and kept on tickling him so much that his whole body tingled. Finally he managed to wrench himself away and he swam away from her fingers.

_"Troy where did you go?" _she asked.

He kept silent as he swam underneath her with the clear intent of exacting revenge. He chanced upon her lower back. He slowly approached then suddenly blew water on her bare skin. The shock of it made her squirm and he congratulated himself.

_"Troy, you little sneak!" _

But Troy wasn't through with her yet. He quickly moved down to her left leg and flicked his tail where her skin was exposed, causing her to jerk again and sink lower into the water. But before she could retaliate, he moved upwards. Her pajama top was fully submerged in the water so it rode upwards leaving her stomach up to her breast bone exposed. He swam up and flicked her on her lower abdomen. It sent her into another gale of giggles. Convinced that he found her tickle spot, he kept on alternately flicking his tail and blowing water at her stomach. She shouted something in English between hysterical laughter. That only encouraged him to tease her further. He moved upwards pass her navel, flicking and blowing his way on each expanse of bare skin he could reach.

She stopped laughing but Troy continued to brush at her with his tail, hoping to find another ticklish spot. He kept at it for a few moments before he realized she became unusually quiet. He stopped suddenly and he realized he swam a little higher than he intended. At the same time, her pajama top closed in around him and he was left inside the cavern of her clothes between her… Troy couldn't say it. He suddenly felt deeply embarrassed at the intimate position he was in. And his awkwardness intensified when Sharpay started breathing hard. It made her chest rise and fall and caused him to bump into places he never dared to touch, not even with Gabriella.

_"T-Troy… g-get off…"_ came Sharpay's strangled gasp and he felt her hand attempt to push him out of her top. Troy tried to get out but somehow her pajama top became a tangle of cloth under water that he couldn't find an exit from. Sharpay's attempt to shake him out wasn't helping. He just kept jostling inside her and getting dizzier by the second.

She shouted something unintelligible again before he heard: _"Troy stop__—__"_ she begged before her voice faltered. At the same time, she stopped struggling to push him out. That gave him the opportunity to move a bit and find a way out. He found an opening above him and he headed there. He came out of Sharpay's collar. He felt Sharpay's breath hitch and her mouth hung open. A blush started up her cheeks.

_"__Sharpay__, I'__m so sorry, I didn't mean to…"_ he faltered as he realized Sharpay wasn't paying attention to him. Something behind him had her frozen in terror and deep humiliation. He turned around and came face to face with his own father, Sharpay's parents and Ryan who were all staring at them with bewildered looks on their faces.

* * *

_**A/N: **__I figured you all liked __Sharpay__ and Troy in the tub so much I came up with this __little __Troypay__ scene in the end. I've already got this chapter mostly written a few days ago, but I suddenly came up with the idea of Troy's awkward phase that I had to add it__ before I updated_

_My boyfriend discussed a back story for Troy and __Sharpay__ in grade school while I was writing this. We thought maybe__ Troy wasn't all that popular when he was younger, as most normal kids are. I thought maybe he also went through a phase where he was regarded as __a nobody__ and was bullied by the older jocks. It might explain why he doesn't have a swelled head when he __was practically worshipped like a god in high school__. He knows what it feels to be one of the little guys.__We __picture__d__ nine-year__-__old __Troy __as a bit pudgy, with oversized heavy glasses and braces similar to the one worn by Willy __Wonka__ in the latest film version of __Willy __Wonka__ and the Chocolate Factory__Sharpay__ too at this age isn't an ice queen yet and is probably regarded as a bit strange by most of the students. She probably isn't __that attractive__ either__. I figured__ Troy and Chad got into the basketball team by fifth grade (but not without some difficulties from current team captain__ and a major diet dilemma with his dad__). At the same time, __Sharpay__ starts to blossom into a beauty and morphs into an ice queen. She becomes popular even before Troy and Chad which makes Chad a bit resentful—Wow! I just realized this is another __fanfic__ in the making. But I'll give it some thought if I have enough details for it to push through__ and if I have enough time to actually write it__. I never really write a __fanfic__ unless I have enough to go on with it plot-wise to stand as a full story. But if anyone out there gets inspired by my random ideas feel free to use them in your own stories._

_By the way, Lucy's name was inspired by Lucy __Pevensie__ from the Chronicles of Narnia, just as "Susan Bolton's" name from my previous __fic__ was inspired from Susan __Pevensie__. I thought a name like Lucy evokes the innocence of childhood, while I associate Susan as being motherly. Before I got bitten by the HSM bug, I was a Narnia __fanfic__ writer under another pen name. In fact I got interested in HSM because of Narnia. I had a huge crush on William Moseley (who plays Peter) before and I noticed he __kinda__ looks like __Zac__Efron__. If you haven't seen Narnia, go check the DVD right away. It's amazing._


	11. On the Brink of Despair

**Chapter Eleven:****On the Brink of ****Despair**

_"How do we do that?"_Troy asked.

Sharpay lay back on the edge of the tub and arched her head to think. How exactly was she going to get Gabriella to kiss Troy now? She couldn't threaten the girl and it was no use pleading with the truth. Perhaps she could just use force. Maybe she could just tie Gabriella up and just dunk her head into the tub so Troy could kiss her. She smiled to herself. It was a rather satisfying form of revenge to get back at her for trying to kill Troy earlier.

She felt Troy's tail on her hand and she moved to touch him back. This was somewhat comforting and she shut her eyes to savor the feel of him. She had been so worried when she woke up in her own bed and was just so glad he was still alive. It felt good to be able to tell him all about her childhood. She missed this kind of companionship from her fish friends. But her little heart-to-heart revelations with Troy felt even better because he could understand things like therapy and doctors. Those concepts were just something beyond the grasp of the fish.

She moved to touch him on the side and was rewarded by his adorable laughter.

_"Are you ticklish?"_ she teased. She didn't wait for an answer but began tickling him. His body jerked involuntarily and so she continued.

_"__Sharpay__, stop!" _he cried. But she was having too much fun torturing him. She just loved the sound of his laughter. It felt good to laugh after all the tension they've been through in the last few hours. But suddenly he slipped from her fingers.

_"Troy where did you go?"_

There was no answer and for a moment Sharpay thought maybe Troy was angry at her. Suddenly she felt a movement at the small of her back that caused her to jump.

_"Troy, you little sneak!" _she cried but before she could move to retaliate, she felt him at her leg and then he was at her abdomen. He found her tickle spot and continued to move up her stomach. She tried to get free but it was hard to do so when she was laughing so hard.

"Troy stop!" she shouted between peals of hysterical laughter. "Troy, no more! You win! Just stop it! TROY!"

She felt him move higher and she realized he was at her cleavage and he was still touching her with his tail. The sensation was surprisingly thrilling. She closed her eyes and couldn't help but imagine him in human form touching her like this. She could just picture his warm lips lightly tracing on her skin. She bit her tongue to keep herself from gasping his name at the sensations she was feeling.

She suddenly remembered he was a fish and that was just well… weird. She felt the beginnings of a blush and she got a hold of herself. "_T-Troy… g-get off…"_

But Troy didn't. She could still feel him moving around inside her top and she felt a sense of being violated. She desperately tried to push him out but he seemed to be just bumping around inside her top making her feel things that she knew she shouldn't be feeling with a fish.

"TROY, STOP IT! I MEAN IT! TROY, GET OFF ME—" She realized he couldn't understand her and translated: _"Troy stop__—"_

But she never got to finish her sentence. The bathroom door burst open and to her horror, Coach Bolton rushed in followed by her parents and Ryan.

"Where's my son—" her gym teacher began but he stepped back abruptly, half-embarrassed as he realized she was in the tub.

"Sharpay, princess," her father began. Sharpay felt Troy move inside her again and he came out from the collar of her pajama top. Her family and Troy's father stared at her with questioning looks. She had never been so mortified in her life.

"Er… Sharpay, what are you doing?" Ryan asked.

"Uhhmmm… just-just playing with my fish," she replied pathetically.

She got more confused looks.

"Sharpay, honey," her mother said. "I think you should get out of that tub, it's not very healthy in your pajamas. And you're pruning up." She offered Sharpay a hand but Sharpay didn't take it. She looked beyond her mother's hand to where a distraught Coach Bolton was staring around her bathroom as if expecting to find Troy lurking around there somewhere. Her father was trying to lower his voice to explain but Sharpay could hear him all the same.

"She's not herself," her father whispered frantically. "Troy's not here or we would have known. He's out there somewhere."

"But she was screaming his name," Coach Bolton said without even trying to whisper.

"It's madness alright," explained her dad in the same low voice that wasn't low enough. "She doesn't know what she's saying."

"But she might know where he is. Please, isn't there any way to get her to talk?" he begged.

Sharpay couldn't help but feel for Coach Bolton. He must be worried to distraction now. If only she could tell him that his son was safe. If she could only convince him—wait, that was it! Maybe she could prove to Coach Bolton that Troy really was the fish. She couldn't believe why she didn't think of it before, it was so simple.

"Coach Bolton, can I talk to you?"

Troy's father looked up hopefully and nodded. "Can you tell me where Troy is?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to you," she stared at her family looking curiously at her. She knew she couldn't convince him when they were around. "Alone, please. Give me a minute to change."

Her family stared at each other but finally nodded. They all cleared out of the room but Sharpay remembered Mama Liat.

"Ryan, wait," she called softly as she got out of the tub.

He turned around to face her.

"What is it Shar?" he asked softly though his tone remained guarded.

"How's Mama Liat?"

"Still the same. We're still waiting," he said sadly.

Sharpay bit her lip in disappointment and to her surprise her brother turned back to her and enveloped her in a hug. She heard him sniffle and she realized he too must have been going through an awful lot with being guilty about Mama Liat, worrying over her, and Troy missing.

"I don't know what's going on but I'm trying to understand, Shar," he said, his voice cracking. "But we'll get you help, I promise."

Sharpay shuddered at what he meant but what he said next kept her from pulling away from him:

"Just know that I love you, Shar. I'm here for you, whatever it is you're going through." He kissed her forehead softly before letting her go.

"Ry…" she gasped for she was extremely touched at his gesture. Still, she knew she can't make him believe her and any attempt she made would only put him on his guard again.

"Yes, Sharpay?"

"Thank you for feeding my fish," she said.

Ryan smiled at her. "I thought I should. I mean I think that fish meant a lot to you."

"He does," replied Sharpay as she thought of Troy. "More than you can imagine. Promise me, whatever happens to me, you won't let anything bad happen to it. Promise me, Ry?"

Ryan nodded. "Alright. You should dry up now. Do you need help? Should I send Mom?"

She shook her head. "No, just send me up some food and a bit of algae for my fish."

He nodded and left closing the door softly behind him. She turned back to Troy but refrained from looking at him directly knowing what just happened between them. She was glad that urgent matters forced them to dismiss the issue at the moment.

_"Your dad's here. I've got just the thing. Help me convince him who you are."_

_"How?" _he asked.

She grabbed a towel and walked to her closet to get some fresh clothes but she continued to talk to him from the other room.

_"Tell me something only he and you know.__"_

_"Alright."_He fell into silence as she dressed in her room away from his gaze. _"__Sharpay__, I'm really sorry about… a while ago."_

She didn't reply and continued to dress into a decent floral print dress.

_"__Sharpay__, I wasn't really… I mean I was just tickling… I wasn't trying to…"_

Sharpay rushed back into the bathroom before he could say anything more. She was really uncomfortable with this conversation. If he found out how she felt with him as a fish, she could never look him in the eye again. _"__F__orget about it okay. We have bigger problems to worry about,"_ she dismissed harshly.

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Just shut up! I don't want to hear it ever again!"_

There was a knock on her door and Sharpay was thankful for an excuse to leave him. She answered the door and Coach Bolton came up with a tray of freshly baked biscuits, some watermelon slices and pineapple juice. He also carried a small container that contained the fresh algae she requested for Troy.

"Hi Coach," she greeted pleasantly. "Come in."

She led him back to her bathroom. He looked a bit surprised to be leading him back there but didn't say anything. She sat at the rim of the tub and invited him to sit beside her. He put the tray between them and set aside the container with Troy's food on the floor.

"Sharpay, please tell me where my son is," he said softly. "Is he alive?"

Sharpay took his hand and squeezed it tight. "Coach, Troy's alive and he's fine. But I need you to keep an open mind on what about to tell you."

He eyed her doubtfully but nodded.

She sighed and braced herself. "Coach, I know everyone thinks I'm crazy but I'm not. I have the ability to talk to fish—wait let me finish!" she quickly added as he saw the doubt in his expression. "I can talk to fish, I know it's hard to believe. But I can talk to the fish right there," she pointed at Troy. "And he's not just any fish. That's Troy."

Coach Bolton's face crunched up in confusion and disbelief. "Sharpay, this isn't—"

"I know it's not logical, Coach. But you have to believe me. Troy got cursed and turned into a fish. I got cursed too that's why I can talk to fish. And I can prove both." She turned to Troy and spoke in fish talk: "_Troy, tell me something about your dad now."_

_"Well… __er__… okay his middle name is Sheldon."_

Sharpay almost laughed as she turned to face Coach Bolton. "Your middle name is Sheldon? _Why does it sound like a turtle?"_ she couldn't help but add to Troy.

Coach Bolton stared at her in confusion. "How did you…"

_"Tell me something more, quick!" _Sharpay demanded.

_"__Uhhmmm__… oh I got it…. my dad likes Ricky Martin."_

"You're a Ricky Martin fan," Sharpay quickly said.

_"He likes to shake his bonbon in the living room when he thinks no one's looking."_

Sharpay could just picture Coach Bolton doing that and winced. She revised her translation. "You dance in the living room when you think you're alone…"

Coach Bolton gulped and blushed.

_"He can't cook to save his life—"_

"You can't cook—"

_"One time he nearly burned the kitchen when he left the stove—"_

"You almost burned the kitchen once when you left the oven—"

_"The stove__, not the oven!"_

"I mean the stove!"

_"He left the gas on and if he lit a match he could have blown up the house—"_

"You left the house and when you lit a match…"

_"He didn't light a match, not yet, but he almost did!"_

"Slow down!" Sharpay finally screamed at Troy as Coach Bolton jumped in surprise. _"I mean, slow down! I'm getting everything jumbled."_

_"Sorry."_

"Sharpay…" Coach Bolton said. He looked half-afraid and half-confused at her.

"Troy's telling me all this right now as a fish. Coach, you've got to believe me. Look, ask me something only you and he know and I can answer it."

Troy's father still looked at her doubtfully. "Sharpay, this is ridiculous. I think you're just confused. My son can't be a fish."

"Well how do you explain how I know things about you?"

"Well… he could have told you before… Sharpay, please. Just tell me where he is."

"I already told you. He's the fish." She was getting desperate. "Just ask me a question, I can ask him and I can answer it."

Coach Bolton still eyed her distrustfully but sighed. He gave her a rather patronizing look. "Alright… how old is the forty-year old Albuquerque secondary school basketball championship trophy?"

Sharpay thought that was an odd question. The answer was already in the question itself but she turned to Troy instead.

_"Troy, your dad just asked me how old is the forty-year-old Albuquerque secondary school basketball championship trophy. Is he making fun of me? He just gave me the answer."_

_"No! It's a really good question only he and I know about! The Albuquerque secondary school basketball championship trophy is passed on every year to the school that wins the championship since the inter-school Albuquerque basketball games started forty years ago. They use the same trophy since they started the competition. Technically it should be forty years old. But the one we have in __East__ High right now is only seven years old."_

"Sharpay?" Coach Bolton asked and she quickly turned back to him.

"The answer is seven. The one you have in East High is seven years old."

Coach Bolton looked taken aback. "Why?" he asked.

_"Your Dad wants to know why."_

Troy laughed. _"It was my fault. The trophy is a fake. I accidentally broke the real one when I was nine. I was playing in his office where it was placed and I hit it with a basketball. It crashed on the floor and broke into several pieces. My dad was too embarrassed to admit to the school board I broke it so he replaced it with a new one and made me swear not to tell anyone on the threat of never allowing me to touch another basketball again. I've never told anyone. Not even my Mom knows about that or Dad would be in big trouble. It's an important traditional piece you know."_

Sharpay couldn't help but giggle at that. She turned back to Coach Bolton to give her answer when the door burst open and Gabriella came running in.

"Coach Bolton, don't believe a word she says!"

"What?" Coach Bolton began but Gabriella pulled him away from Sharpay.

"She's just pretending to be crazy," Gabriella accused. "They found Troy's jacket in a cave near the beach." She stared at Sharpay fearfully. "Did you kill him?"

"What?" Sharpay asked, bewildered.

"DID YOU KILL HIM?!" Gabriella screamed hysterically as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Sharpay shook her head but she realized what was going on in Gabriella's mind. "You're imagination is going overboard! What do you think I did? Stripped Troy, murdered him and hid his body?"

"Yes!"

"I would never do that!"

"Then how do you explain why his jacket is in the cave and his clothes were on the beach and there's no sign of him? Where is he?!"

"I already told you, he became a fish! He found me in the cave and he took off his jacket there. I brought him out and when we got to the beach he became a fish!"

"That's the stupidest story I've ever heard!" shouted Gabriella.

"It's the truth!"

"Well it's not going to help you when the police get here. I already called in a missing persons report," Gabriella said smugly.

"Gabriella, please," Coach Bolton begged in an attempt to calm her down. At the same time, Ryan, her parents, Taylor and Chad appeared behind them but Gabriella didn't stop.

"They'll be investigating this Sharpay, oh yes they will. You're the primary suspect and I'll make sure you pay for what you've done to Troy!" She began to sob but she refused all efforts of the other people around her to calm down. "I hope they lock you up! I hope they make you suffer—!" The rest of her insults died out as Taylor and Chad forcibly pulled Gabriella out of the room.

Sharpay shuddered as she realized how grave her situation was. If she couldn't get Troy back to human form and she couldn't convince anyone, there was a big possibility that she would end up accused of his murder. She turned to Coach Bolton. He was her only hope.

"Coach, I didn't kill Troy. I never harmed him I swear! He's the fish. I can prove it!"

"Jack," Sharpay's father tugged at his arm urgently. "I think you should leave now. Let me handle this, please." And he began to usher Coach Bolton out.

"Daddy, wait! Please, let me talk to him!"

"Princess, you must calm down. Nobody's accusing you of anything just tell us where Troy is, even if he's… hurt… you won't be blamed."

"But he's not hurt! He's alright. He's right in the tub!" Sharpay said frantically but Coach Bolton was being pulled out of the room by her mother. "Coach, you've got to listen. The answer to your question: the trophy is a fake! You replaced it when Troy broke it when he was nine!"

Coach Bolton did a double take. "How did you know—"

"Troy told me just now! Coach please!"

But her mother rushed between them, a panicked expression on her face. She shuffled Coach Bolton out the door. "She's just confused. Please Jack, let us handle this. I'm sure she would never hurt your son…"

And he was gone. Sharpay was left alone with her father. She suddenly realized her own mother suspected her of killing Troy too. That was why she wanted Coach Bolton away from her. Maybe she was afraid Sharpay would reveal something to him that indicated she was guilty. That was how it was with her parents. Even when she was young, they were always afraid that other people would know about her "secret condition." They were ashamed of having a crazy daughter. But they were doubly afraid of her becoming violent or hurting someone because of her madness. Perhaps to her parents, what they feared most was coming true so they felt the need to hide it at all costs. And it hurt Sharpay so much. It hurt that even her own parents could think she would do something as horrible as kill another person.

"Daddy, I'm telling you the truth," she sobbed though she knew it was hopeless even to appeal to him.

Her father hugged her and she let her head fall on his chest. "It's okay princess. I know, I know." He patted her head like she was a child but it wasn't in any way comforting to Sharpay. She was familiar with those pats. It was what he did when he didn't believe her but was just humoring her to calm her down. "Everything's going to be alright, princess. You just go rest for the moment and tomorrow we'll go home to Albuquerque and visit an old friend."

Sharpay pulled away from his embrace. She knew who that old friend was. Her therapist. She slumped down at the rim of the tub and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Troy swam towards her with a worried expression.

"Princess?"

"Just go Daddy," she whispered. "I want to be alone."

She heard his footsteps shuffle out and the door close behind him.

_"What happened?__" _asked Troy.

_"They took your Dad away before I can convince him. Gabriella thinks I killed you!" _cried Sharpay.

_"But that's not possible! I mean. I'm not dead. They don't have a body to base that on."_

_"I'll still be the suspect," _answered Sharpay and she pressed her face on the cool tiles and let her tears flow. It was all just too much to take. _"Even my parents doubt me too. I can tell. They're afraid I really killed you, __that's__ why they got your father away from me as soon as possible."_

_"T-they won't have you arrested, would they?" _Troy asked fearfully.

_"N-no.__I'm sure Daddy will do anything to prevent that. But he's sending me to therapy again tomorrow." _She sniffled and felt her body shake. _"I'm scared Troy."_

He swam to the edge of the tub to her so he could be as close to her as possible. _"I'm scared too. But we have to find a way to get me back. It's been two days. Tomorrow is the last night of the full moon. If I don't get back by then I might not get back at all. Maybe we could talk to the other fish in the lake. Maybe they know something."_

Sharpay slowly got up. _"I supposed that's all we can do. Mama __Liat__ is still in a coma and we can't wait anymore. Come on." _She took the bucket filled it with water and had Troy jump in. But when they got to her room door she found it locked.

_"Damn it, they locked us in again!"_

She pounded hard on the door. "Let me out! Daddy! Mother! Please! Let me out!"

She heard running footsteps approach and stopped at her door. "Shar, it's Ryan. Calm down, please."

"Ryan, let me out."

He hesitated. "Shar, I can't. Not right now. The police are on the phone and Dad's talking to them," he explained. His voice was edgy and Sharpay knew he was trying his most to pacify her. "They're now asking questions about Troy. Shar, if you know where he is, now's the time to tell me. Coach Bolton won't file charges."

"Ryan, I already told you what happened to Troy. Just let me out. I need to talk to the fish in the lake and I'm taking Troy with me."

There was a long moment of silence on the other door and then she heard a soft thud. She could just picture her brother slumping in exasperation at the other side of her door. He gave a deep sigh. "Shar, I can't let you do that I'm sorry. But I have to ask you to keep quiet. Don't make this worse for you than it already is. Dad and Mom are already making excuses for you and telling the police about… about your… condition so they won't have to come here," he said slowly as if choosing his words carefully.

"I'm not crazy Ryan, please," she begged her brother. "Just let me out!"

"I'm sorry. Shar…" She heard him shift around and she could just imagine him with his ear to the door. Sharpay pounded on it hard and hoped it hurt his ear. "Owww!" he cried and Sharpay felt satisfied that she guessed correctly. She pounded on the door again.

"Sharpay, please, calm down. Just stop it." He paused and this time his voice pleaded. "Don't make me have you sedated again."

Sharpay stopped mid-pound. She knew her brother would most likely do that if she kept this up. And it won't do her and Troy any good if she was unconscious. She slumped down into the floor next to Troy in his bucket.

_"It's no use. He won't open it. He might have me drugged again if I insist."_

_"What do we do?"_

Sharpay had no answer for him. _"Let's get you back in the tub for the moment."_

She carried him back to the bathroom and changed the tub's water before she replaced him back there again. She felt so tired suddenly but she didn't want to leave Troy alone in the tub. She got into the tub and lay her back down to relax. Troy seemed to sense that she wanted some time for quiet and kept the silence. Eventually, she nibbled on the fruit Coach Bolton brought in and gave Troy his algae.

_"What if they stuck us here until tomorrow and it's too late?" _Troy finally said after the long silence and when they've eaten their full.

Sharpay shook her head. _"There's got to be a way." _She got up and paced around the bathroom. _"Maybe we could climb down my balcony."_

_"It's three stories high," _Troy complained.

_"Four actually," _said Sharpay dejectedly. _"The floor elevation_ _is __higher __than normal.__"_She didn't like the prospect of scaling down the house but there wasn't any way out. She walked to the door to go to her room. _"I guess I better tie up some sheets."_

_"You're not actually thinking of doing that are you?" _Troy asked in surprise. _"It's too dangerous!"_

She turned back and glared at him. _"Got any better ideas?" _she said sarcastically. _"I can lower you down first in a bucket tied to some sheets and then I'll climb down to you. I promise I'll be gentle with you."_

_"No… but __Sharpay__, it's too risky. It's not me I'm worried about. It's you. It's too high and who knows if the sheets can hold your weight. This isn't like the movies."_

_"Well there's nothing else we can do so we'll just have to risk it."_

She made a move to go, but Troy shouted again.

_"__Sharpay__, no!__ I'm not going to have you risk your life for me."_

Sharpay stopped. She was enormously touched by what he said and she could feel tears stinging her eyes.

_"__Sharpay__, please come back here," _he pleaded.

Sharpay hurriedly wiped away her tears before turning back to him. She sat by the rim of the tub again so she can be near him.

_"__Sharpay__, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me but I value your life too much for you to do this."_

_"But what if there's no other way to escape and it would be too late?" _she reasoned.

He was silent for a moment before replying: _"Then I'll just have to accept what comes to me." _

Sharpay felt her tears stinging and this time she couldn't stop them from falling down her cheeks anymore.

_"Hey don't cry," _he said gently.

_"But I promised I'd get you back," _she sniffled as she put her hand in the water again so Troy could reach her.

He brushed against her palm. _"But not like this. We'll find another way… I care you about you too much as…"_

_"Your friend, I know," _she finished for him. Although she wished he was more than that, she knew they just weren't meant to be. Her failed kiss already proved that.

There was a sound of the door opening and Sharpay jumped up. _"Someone's coming." _

She turned around and came face to face with Gabriella. She was alone. Her eyes were swollen with crying but she had a determined look on her face.

"Your parents might have bought you some time Sharpay, but I'm not going to rest until you pay for what you did to Troy," she said harshly. "I know you're just pretending to be crazy."

Sharpay instinctively stepped back to block Gabriella's path to Troy in case his girlfriend had any ideas of killing him again. "I'm neither pretending nor am I truly crazy," she answered defiantly.

But Gabriella glared at her harder. "What a liar you are," she spat. "But I know I've got you scared and you'll crack soon enough."

_"__Sharpay__, get her to kiss me," _said Troy. _"This is our chance." _

Sharpay knew Troy was right. This could all end right now. But there was no way she can convince Gabriella to kiss Troy. Sharpay knew there was only one other way to do it. A sly thought came into her head and she put on a sorry expression.

"Alright, you got me," she told Gabriella with a convincing defeated sigh. "I'll tell you where Troy is."

Gabriella looked relieved but Sharpay needed to reel her in and get her off guard. She let her tears flow which wasn't difficult since she had been crying only moments ago.

"I'm so sorry," Sharpay sobbed. "You win."

Sharpay watched from the corner of her eye as she saw a triumphant look crossed Gabriella's face. Just a little more to put Gabriella off and then she can strike.

"It was just a joke," continued Sharpay with a mock wail. "I didn't mean for it to get out of hand."

"Well then tell me right now where Troy is," said Gabriella.

Sharpay sat down at the rim of the tub and continued to pretend to cry. She let out a few chokes for good measure. "C-could you sit by me, please? I want to tell you everything."

Gabriella hesitated but finally sat down next to her as Sharpay gave a convincing guttural sound.

"Now tell me where Troy is," Gabriella said softly.

That was all Sharpay needed to hear. Without another word, Sharpay grabbed both of Gabriella's arms and twisted them to her back. She kept Gabriella's hands locked and with one hand while her other hand forcefully dunked Gabriella's head into the water.

_"TROY, KISS HER NOW!"_

She saw Troy move in towards Gabriella's mouth. At the same time, Gabriella started struggling. Sharpay tightened her hold on the girl and put her weight on her. She used her knees to clamp down on her struggling legs.

_"It's not working!" _Troy shouted.

Gabriella was getting more and more difficult to restrain and Sharpay was afraid if she held her head on too long under water she would drown. She pulled Gabriella's head back through her hair to allow her to breathe. But in that short span of time Gabriella screamed.

"Help! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

Panicked, Sharpay forcefully pushed her head back into the water.

_"Do it again!" _Sharpay shouted frantically to Troy. _"It has to work!"_

But Sharpay was tiring and Gabriella was struggling even harder.

The door burst open and she heard shouts. Sharpay felt someone forcibly grab her. She let go of Gabriella who fell into Ryan's arms gasping for breath. Sharpay didn't even struggle against the one that pulled her back. She eyed the tub expecting Troy to emerge in human form. But he didn't.

_"Troy, were you able to kiss her?" _she shouted to him.

_"Yes!" _came Troy's reply. _"Six times or seven times.__ It was awkward but I definitely did. It didn't work."_

Sharpay felt her heart plummet. If that didn't work then she was in big trouble. She noticed the whole room was now full of people all with accusing eyes strained on her. She realized her father was the one who was still holding on to her.

"She tried to kill me!" Gabriella shouted when she was finally able to speak.

Sharpay shook her head. "No, I wasn't! I just needed you to…" She stopped as she realized it didn't matter now. The spell didn't break with Gabriella either. The last bit of hope of getting him back crashed within her. There was only the wishing shrine left and even that option seemed bleaker than ever.

"She's not crazy!" Gabriella accused. "She's just pretending to be but she's nothing but a cold blooded murderess!"

"I'm not!" Sharpay pleaded as she realized how much trouble she got herself into. "I wasn't trying to hurt you. If I did, I'm sorry. I got it wrong. The legend must be wrong…"

"Just shut up about your stupid legends Sharpay!" screamed Gabriella as she freed herself from Ryan's arms. "We're not buying it, any of it!"

Sharpay's mother rushed to her in a panic. "Gabriella, please. I'm so sorry, but you must understand. Sharpay's not herself right now. She doesn't know what she's doing."

But Gabriella stood her ground. "She knows exactly what she's doing! You all saw how she tried to drown me. If I hadn't called for help I would be dead by now! She lured me here on the pretense she was going to tell where Troy is. Believe me, there's nothing about the way she spoke to me earlier that indicated she was crazy." She glared back at Sharpay. "I'm not going to let this go. I'll have you arrested for attempted murder!"

Sharpay saw her mother's face fell. "Gabriella, please… let's go talk outside…"

"NO!" Gabriella shouted at her. "This ends now! Where is he Sharpay?! If you've killed him, what have you done to him?"

"I already told you, he's not dead! I never hurt him," Sharpay cried. "He's the fish in the tub. I just wanted you to kiss him because I thought it would get him back."

"See, she's not making sense, Gabriella," her father pointed out. Sharpay knew her Dad was just trying to be helpful but it still hurt that he had to do it by pointing out that she was insane.

"She's lying again!" Gabriella insisted. "Alright fine, Sharpay. If that's the way you want it. Fine. But maybe you'll tell the truth when that stupid fish of yours is dead!"

A rush of adrenaline came on Sharpay and she broke away from her father's grasp. She made a grab for Gabriella in an effort to stop her before she could make a move for Troy.

"I won't let you hurt him! I won't let you hurt Troy!" she screamed but she never got to Gabriella. Her father restrained her again.

"Princess, please calm down," he begged her. But Sharpay didn't stop struggling. She had to protect Troy.

"Daddy, Troy's the fish! Don't let her hurt him! Don't let her!"

Suddenly she felt a needle prickle her arm and the knowledge of what that meant intensified her terror.

She struggled even harder but she was no match to her father's grip coupled with the drug now circulating her blood stream.

She turned her eyes to the tub and saw Troy flick his tail above the water. She feared it was the last time she will see of him.

_"Troy! Troy!" _she gasped with the last ounce of strength left in her before she sagged down completely. The last thing she heard was Troy's desperate scream before her world went black.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Thanks for all your super reviews. I hope you enjoy this long __chappie. __I couldn't help but involve Coach Bolton in this chapter. I just love his character so much. _

_As for Gabriella, I'd just love to dunk her head in like that__ so I made __Sharpay__ do it__. I think she deserves to be pushed into nastiness once in a while._


	12. A Dreadful Dinner

**Chapter Twelve: A Dreadful Dinner**

_"Troy! Troy!" _he heard Sharpay desperately scream at him. He couldn't see her but he knew she was being kept away by force again.

_"__Sharpay__Sharpay__! No! Not again! Leave her alone!" _he shouted though he knew it was useless. No one can understand his grunts. And then Sharpay was silent and that scared him most of all. He figured she must have been sedated again. What would happen to her then? Would they send her to a mental institution this time? That would be the most likely case. Or worse, she would be taken by the police for attempted murder on Gabriella. Because certainly Gabriella thought Sharpay was trying to kill her when Sharpay forced her head into the tub.

He was actually quite impressed that Sharpay managed to think of that. He knew it was a desperate move but right now they didn't have many options left and they were running out of time. He had been so sure it would work. As soon as Sharpay shouted to him to kiss her he rushed to Gabriella's gasping mouth and kissed her several times. He expected to change immediately—a sharp pain perhaps like the last time coupled with the feeling of suffocating in water. But he felt nothing. On the second time Sharpay plunged his girlfriend's head in, he also managed several kisses on her open mouth. He even managed to touch her tongue with his snout.

And still nothing happened.

He felt neither disappointment nor sadness. Only fear as he realized Sharpay was now in danger for their failed attempt to get him back.

He continued to hear shouts. Predominant was Gabriella's. She seemed to be screaming hysterically while Mr. and Mrs. Evans sounded like they were trying to pacify her. He couldn't understand them but he figured Gabriella was arguing to have Sharpay arrested. He heard an angry stomping of feet, and then what remained were calmer voices he recognized as his Dad's and Mr. Evans. His father sat at the rim of the tub while Mr. Evans sat next to him so Troy could finally get a glimpse of them and tried to read their lips.

"…Please Jack… daughter… mad… hurt your son…" Troy managed to discern from Mr. Evans. He could read between the lines that Sharpay's Dad was trying to get his Dad not to have Sharpay arrested because she was insane.

His father shook his head. "Don't know… believe… scared… Troy… dead…"

Troy could read between the lines of his father's words too and he wished there was some way to get to him. Finally, he settled for trying to get his attention. He used his tail to flick water into his father's arm. His father quickly turned to him and Troy splashed around desperately.

_"I'm here Dad!" _he screamed. _"It's Troy! I'm the fish!"_

His father stared at him sadly and put a hand in the water. Troy took this as a positive sign and rushed to his father's hand. He rubbed his body against his Dad's open palm. His father reacted and retracted his hand, as if he was afraid Troy would bite him.

_"Dad no!__ It's Troy! __Your son!"_And he proceeded to splash his father again.

"Odd…" he discerned from his father's lips before he stood up to join Mr. Evans who appeared to be about to leave the room.

_"I'm odd because I'm not a fish! I'm your son! Dad! Please!"_

But his father disappeared from view. Troy splashed around even more desperately to catch his attention. _"Dad, don't go! Don't leave me here! It's Troy! It's Troy!"_

But all he heard were footsteps, and then the opening and closing of Sharpay's bedroom door. Finally silence. Troy flicked his tail in the water so hard in frustration. He wanted to cry but he couldn't.

What was to become of him now? What if he was left here until morning and there was no way to get back? Will he die here?

And Gabriella—he didn't know exactly what to feel about her anymore. He can understand why she was acting like this. It was only natural that she accused Sharpay for she was scared and desperate to find him. He should be touched that his girlfriend cared so much about finding him. But somehow he just wasn't.

He thought about the failed kisses with Gabriella. Now that he had time to think he began to ponder about what they meant. Of course, it might be that he and Sharpay were just mistaken about the legend. Maybe the curse couldn't really be broken by a kiss and perhaps the only way back really was just through the wishing shrine. But he couldn't help but consider that maybe it didn't work because Gabriella wasn't the one for him either. The more he thought of it, the more he thought that it might be true. He remembered how Gabriella had been getting on his nerves these last few days. It seemed like the spark they used to have when they first met and during the summer was fading. Well, when he thought about last summer he remembered how easily he could forget her when he was faced with other matters like his future. She was a nice girl, but sometimes she demanded too much. Too much time, too much of him that left him no place to grow. He supposed it was alright to dilly dally and live for one summer last year, but now that they were out of school, it was time to move on to the future. And she was still living only for the present. He remembered what happened when he tried back then to think of more than the present. She abandoned him.

Troy couldn't help but feel that she was doing it again to him. He sighed. He didn't know why he never noticed it before but now he could see a pattern here. Gabriella was a nice sweet girl whenever things were alright between them. But when things start to go wrong, she pulls away and leaves him alone. He could understand her the first time she did it. When Chad got him to say in the webcam that she meant nothing to her and she just walked away from him without letting him explain it was just a natural reaction. But the second time in Lava Springs—she did it again. She wasn't interested in his explanations. She left "to go her own way." And she only came back when things were good again. She didn't want to fix things with him when they went wrong. She let him solve it on his own and returned only when everything was back to being perfect. She didn't even fight for him. She just gave up.

And now things were wrong again. He wondered how she would react if she was placed in Sharpay's shoes, if she was the one who can talk to fish. Would she stay to save him like Sharpay did?

Thinking of Sharpay made him smile. She didn't really have to protect him. She could have easily lied to save her own skin and told everyone he drowned somewhere in the sea instead of insisting on the truth. But she hadn't. And she was willing to risk everything for him, even her life. When she insisted on scaling down her balcony earlier to escape with him, he was extremely touched. He knew he would never forget that gesture and he felt extremely guilty that for years he never even took the time to be her friend.

He could just imagine Sharpay waking up in some mental institution. He could picture her in some dark little solitary confinement room where she would be kept day and night. The image of her trapped like some animal made him want to scream. It was unfair! She who risked so much for him and was willing to risk even her own life doesn't deserve this.

He heard the sounds of the door opening followed by footsteps. He went on alert again. Did his father come back for him? He prayed that it was so.

But then the figure that emerged above the tub wasn't his father. It was Gabriella. She had wiped her tears away but she could see her hardened expression that turned to disgust as she stared at him.

_"Gabriella, __it's__ Troy! I'm alive!" _he said even though he knew it was useless. He was just desperate to get through to anyone._ "I'm sorry __for what __Sharpay__ and I did, but please believe her. Please!"_

But Gabriella's face only hardened even more, so much that Troy began to be afraid. He shrank back into the tub.

Suddenly there was a violent movement in the water and Troy sprinted to the bottom. When he managed to rotate his eye he saw a bucket headed towards him.

_"Gabriella? What are you doing?"_

But Gabriella's answer was to chase him with the bucket. Troy quickly jerked away, fearing that she was going to hit him with it.

_"Gabriella __stop__! It's Troy! Don't kill me!"_

He jerked away again to the other direction as fast as he could. He felt Gabriella give chase as she shouted something at him. Again and again, she chased him all around the tub with the bucket but he always managed to get away. And then…

_"__Owww__!"_ Troy shouted as he felt himself collide into something solid. Before he could react he saw the wide open mouth of the bucket swallowing him, while the other thing that he collided on began to close in around him until he had no where to run but inside the bucket.

Then darkness… He knew he was caught!

_"Gabriella, let me go! Please! It's Troy! It's Troy! It's T—"_

His words died as he felt himself jostled inside the bucket as it lifted. As it did, most of the water leaked out and he felt himself gasping for breath. He felt the bucket turn to upright position and for a moment he managed to submerge himself enough to breathe in the little water left inside. But the moment ended and suddenly he was bumping around the little bucket. The water wasn't enough so there were times when he was exposed to air that he had to scramble to submerge his gills so he could breathe.

It was pure torture. He knew Gabriella was taking him somewhere but his throbbing head and lack of water robbed his brain of oxygen and made it impossible for him to even think of what horrors he would possibly endure still. And just when he thought he couldn't endure the bumps anymore his world steadied. He jerked to move his body so most of it was submerged in the water. The lid on top of him was uncovered and brought light back into his world.

He barely managed to catch his breath when Gabriella's face appeared before him. She appeared to be speaking to someone. But her tone with this other person was different. It was polite, almost cheerful.

"…make it special…" he discerned from her lips. And she smiled sweetly—too sweetly it was scary.

_"Gabriella, where am I? What are you doing?"_ he asked her.

Her face disappeared and he heard another voice. It was an unfamiliar female voice. Troy figured it was probably one of the Evans' staff. A moment later a large round face appeared above him and peered closely at him. Troy stared back fearfully at the stout middle-aged woman's face. He recognized her as one of the household staff—one of those who served them snacks when they arrived. She was also the one that packed that picnic dinner for them for the bonfire. Suddenly she lit up a pleased smile that showed a few gaps of her front teeth. Troy's heart plummeted and he was suddenly paralyzed with fear. But it wasn't because of what she looked like. It was because he realized who she was.

The cook.

She disappeared for a moment from his view but when she came back her hand was no longer empty. There was an object gleaming on her hand. Sunlight from above struck it and reflected on the shiny object, momentarily blinding him. When he finally managed to see again he thought he would prefer being blinded again. For right above him was the gleam of a sharp knife and he managed to discern only three words from the cook's lips:

"Nice fleshy fish…"

* * *

"I'm calling the police right now!" Gabriella shouted as Sharpay sagged in her father's arms.

But Mrs. Evans blocked her path. "Gabriella, please. You must understand. Sharpay has psychological problems. She sometimes acts in ways that are odd. But I'm sure she would never hurt anyone deliberately."

"She tried to kill me! You all saw it!"

"I know, Gabriella," implored Mr. Evans. "And I'll make sure she doesn't try to hurt anyone again. Gabriella, I will have Sharpay sent to a therapist. That's a promise. But please try to understand, she's not in her right mind."

"She's playing all of you for a fool!" Gabriella screamed at him. "But she can't fool me! I don't care what you say. I'm calling the police now!"

She made a move to go but Mrs. Evans blocked her path again.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you do that." Her voice took on a dangerously steely note that Jack hadn't heard of before.

Gabriella glared angrily at her then turned to Jack for support. "Coach, she hurt your son, I just know it. You can't let her get away with this!"

Jack stared between his son's girlfriend to Mrs. Evans. His eyes reverted to Sharpay's limp form in her father's arms. Logically, he knew he should side with Gabriella in this situation. But as he stared at Sharpay, something in him made him want to protect her. Despite everything that happened, including witnessing Sharpay forcing Gabriella's head in the tub, Jack had a nagging feeling that he wanted to believe Sharpay. He didn't know why, but ever since he met the girl in her freshman gym class, he always felt a soft spot for her. He always had some sort of instinctive feelings about some of his students. There were some that he immediately liked and some he knew by instinct that were trouble. Sharpay may not be generally liked by her classmates, but she always did well in his classes and was always friendly to him. In contrast, his gut feel for Gabriella had been negative from the moment he caught her interrupting Troy's basketball practice. He never said anything to Troy for he didn't want to interfere with his son's love life but he never really liked Gabriella for him.

Jack avoided Gabriella's face and focused instead on Sharpay's father. "Will therapy help her talk about what happened to Troy?" he asked.

"I'm sure, it will Jack," assured Mr. Evans. "It's helped her before."

"I can't believe you!" cried Gabriella indignantly. "You're just going to let her get away with this?!"

Jack shook his head at her and said nothing. He didn't want to look at her but he heard her stomp away out of the room. Ryan followed after her. Mr. Evans carried Sharpay back to her room and had his wife tend to her. He returned to the bathroom and they both sat by the rim of the tub.

"Jack I'm doing everything I can to find your son. But please understand my daughter's situation," Mr. Evans pleaded as they left Sharpay's room. "She has a psychological problem. You can see that, can't you?"

Jack didn't know how to respond to that. He was just so confused. He can tell that Sharpay was disturbed in some way. She did try to drown Gabriella in her tub and her reason for doing so was in no way rational. It didn't make any sense at all and the only explanation he could think of was the obvious one: Sharpay was really insane. Yet at the back of his mind he had a nagging feeling that this was more than a simple explanation of insanity.

"Please Jack, you have to believe me. My daughter is mad but she isn't capable of hurting your son."

Jack shook his head. "I don't know what to believe anymore alright. Look, I won't file charges, not yet. But I'm scared. And if Troy's dead and your daughter had something to do about it…"

"She's not, Jack. She's not!" Mr. Evans insisted.

Suddenly Jack felt water wet his arm. He noticed that Sharpay's fish in the tub was splashing him. He stared at it and heard it grunt. He didn't know why, but he put his hand in the water as if to pet it. To his surprise the fish started attacking his palm. Frightened, he retracted his hand and it grunted loudly again.

"Odd fish," Jack muttered before he got up and turned away.

"Sharpay's always had an affinity for fish," explained Mr. Evans. "When she was a child she says she can talk to them."

"That's what she told me too. She said Troy's the fish and that she was talking to him."

Mr. Evans shook his head. "It's one of her fantasies, Jack. I can show you her medical records and her psychological evaluation before. She's had a history of tantrums when it comes to fish—"

"But is she capable of murder?" Jack cut in angrily as he stood up and headed towards the door. He knew Mr. Evans was just trying to be helpful but his son's life was at stake.

Mr. Evans shook his head. "N-no, of course not! My daughter's not a killer, Jack. Please believe me! She can be mean at times, but she won't do that. Look, I don't understand it either. It's been years since she's been like this. I think she's just upset with what happened to her nanny and she probably witnessed—" Mr. Evans stopped himself as if afraid of saying the wrong thing. But Jack understood what he meant.

"Something bad that happened to Troy and was affected by it," Jack finished his sentence. That was the gut-wrenching possible explanation that was haunting him since he talked to Sharpay. If Sharpay wasn't the one that hurt Troy, she might have seen something horrible that happened to him, something so terrorizing that it triggered back her old madness. But does that mean his son was dead? Tortured? Heaven knows what else. But it still does not answer why she knew so much about him.

"But what about what she told me? How she could have possibly known things only Troy and I know?" Jack asked as he continued walking. They reached Sharpay's room and he saw Mrs. Evans tucking her in.

"Maybe Troy told her before," reasoned Mr. Evans.

Jack couldn't dispel that that was possibly true. Yet he felt that Troy wouldn't do that.

Mrs. Evans turned to him and led the way out of the room. "Jack, I'm so sorry about all this. This hurts us as much as it hurts you. But please believe us. Our little girl would never hurt anyone, least of all Troy." She took his hand and added pleadingly. "Sharpay likes Troy very much. That much is obvious. But she won't do anything to hurt him. I'm sure she wasn't trying to kill Gabriella either."

Jack wanted nothing more than to believe her, but the loss of his son was just too painful. He shook away from her grasp. "I hope so," he said almost coldly. "Right now, I'm just going to continue looking for my son."

And he went downstairs and went outside without looking back. He ran back out into the plantation fields and headed out to the beach where he saw the Evans' workers in boats a bit away waiting for divers to resurface and give them any report on Troy.

"Any sign of him?" Jack called out.

The workers shook their heads as a new batch of divers went under the waves again. Jack knew he would have to wait a bit more for updates. He didn't want to stand on the beach and do nothing so he went back up and found more workers on their way up to wooded area that led up the side of Mt. Fufu. One of them told him Troy and his friends had been to the lake up the mountain the day before he disappeared. Troy wasn't likely to be there at all for it was too far from the beach where his clothes were found, but Jack was determined to search every inch of this island if he had to, to find his son.

The long climb to the hill and then down to the lake was calming enough on Jack's nerves. He had to admit the mountain was really beautiful. When he got to the edge of the lake, he sat down at a boulder, dipped his feet and slumped his head on his hands.

"Troy, where are you?" he asked no one before he was overcome by tears at the thought that his son might be somewhere lying dead in this island, his corpse already rotting. He didn't know how long he stayed that way but the sky was already darkening when he heard a gentle voice behind him.

"Jack?"

He turned around and found Mr. Evans.

"Is there any news of Troy?" he asked hopefully.

Mr. Evans shook his head. "None, I'm sorry. But please come back now. It's already getting dark. Dinner will be ready soon."

Jack was reluctant to leave, but he knew he had to. He finally stood up and followed Mr. Evans back up the mountain.

"This was my daughter's favorite place," Mr. Evans said. "She used to come here alone when she was young. She claims she was friends with the fish here." He shook his head. "I thought then she just had an overactive imagination. Had I known she would develop into this extreme fantasy about fish I wouldn't have let her go here. I'm so sorry, Jack."

Jack took one last look at the calm waters of the lake and found despite everything that it was beautiful. "Troy would have loved it here," he answered simply, knowing his son's penchant for nature.

They climbed the mountain in silence. When they reached the house, the staff had just announced dinner was ready. Jack didn't feel like eating, yet he felt hungry just the same. He followed Mr. Evans to the dinning room where Taylor, Chad, Zeke, Gabriella, Ryan, Mrs. Evans, Kelsi and Jason were already seated.

"I'm glad you can join us Jack," Mrs. Evans said gently as Jack took the seat next to her. He nodded curtly at her before his eyes riveted to Gabriella. She was sitting quietly next to Taylor, her eyes were downcast and her face had an expressionless mask. Jack was just relieved that she seemed calm enough to be at the dinner table with everyone after she blew up at him and Mr. and Mrs. Evans earlier for their refusal to have Sharpay arrested.

The tension around the table was still high. Jack was grateful when several servants came in bearing large plates of food. It provided some distraction. Gabriella looked up and eyed the trays with a starving look in her gaze. Jack thought she must really be hungry after going through that ordeal and thought no more of it. A vegetable salad was placed before him and he started on that while a maid ladled him some chicken soup.

"By request of our guest, the cook prepared something special," one the maids announced. A final tray was brought in and was uncovered. It was a large fish dressed in spices, tomatoes and mayonnaise, and garnished with lemon wedges and parsley.

"That looks delicious," Mrs. Evans gushed. She was about to offer to Jack first but Gabriella took the serving fork and stuck it almost viciously at the fish's neck, severing it from the body.

Mr. Evans seemed to do a double take as he stared at the severed head. "Maile?" he called to the maid that brought the fish in. "Is this a humuhumunukunukuapua'a?"

Gabriella dropped the fork and stared at the maid with a curious look on her face that Jack could tell was something like fear, though he had no idea why.

"Why yes, sir," replied the maid. "The cook said they found one that was injured and it was about to die anyway so we had it for dinner."

"You know it's illegal to catch these, Maile," reprimanded Mr. Evans.

"We know sir," explained Maile apologetically. "But the fish was dying anyway. The cook thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste. And she wanted to be creative for once with another type of fish."

"Well I suppose it couldn't hurt," Mr. Evans shrugged. "If it was dying anyway. We can't very well give it back life as it's already cooked. Let's have it then. Gabriella, please go on."

Gabriella picked up the fork again and dug through the fish's body, taking a huge chunk of it and putting it on her plate. She then passed the plate to Chad who grabbed an equally generous piece. The fish was then passed around to everyone until it reached Jack.

He stared at it for a moment. Half side of the fish was already taken and he could clearly see the skeletal spine.

"Try it Jack, it's really good," Mrs. Evans said as she took a bite of her own piece of fish.

"It's not everyday we get to eat an illegal fish," added Chad from the other end of the table. He put a piece on his mouth. "And it tastes great too. Go on, Coach. "

Jack took the advice and poked around at the spine to get a piece on the other side of the fish. As he did a bad feeling came about him, but it was gone before he could think further so he though no more of it. He took a bite and found the fish to be excellently cooked. It was fleshy, sweet and perfectly seasoned. He couldn't agree more and settled to enjoy it with everyone else.

Across the table from him, he noticed Gabriella seemed to be enjoying her fish more than anyone else. She even had a smile on her face as she cut her fish with her knife, stuck it with a fork, dipped it in its mayonnaise dressing and plopped it in her mouth with gusto.

_The End._

_Or is it?_

_**A/N: **__Bwahahahaha__! I am so evil. Hey I'd love to leave it there as a special post-Halloween __treat__ for all of you, but I know you'll hate me if I end it like that. So wait for the next __chappie__, though I'm still working on that and the update may take a while longer to come by. It's back to class for me this November so I might not have as much time working on this._


	13. Back to the Cave

**Chapter Thirteen: Back to the Cave **

Sharpay stared at the single beam of light before her. Slowly she adjusted her eyes and discerned that it was coming from a dim light bulb above her head. The bulb wasn't cased. Instead it hung naked from a single wire from the ceiling, producing an ugly eerie whitish glow. She stared at her surroundings and was almost blinded. Everything here was white. From ceiling to walls to floor, everything was a vast expanse of white tiled upholstered foam. Only the single light bulb above her and the outline of a door (also incased in upholstered white foam) with a single glass window in it broke the scene of white. Her heart began to race. Where was she?

She tried to sit up and realized she couldn't. She looked down at herself and realized she couldn't because she couldn't move her arms. They were tied around her strapped around her back, laced in a white jacket. She gasped in horror as she realized what it meant. She had never been tied and locked up like this but she had seen enough psychological thriller movies to understand.

For a long moment she remained still unable to move in sheer terror. Then slowly she lifted herself up to a sitting position and then with some difficulty she managed to stand. She went to the window and tried to peer in but it was too high for her to glimpse anything outside but another white wall. The reality of it hit her.

"I'm not crazy! Daddy! Ryan! Mother! Please if you can hear me, let me out! Let me out!"

She went on and on crying. For how long she couldn't tell. Finally she grew tired of her own screams and she slumped down and lay on her side, consumed by her own tears.

Was this how it will end? She was trapped here in this lunatic bin with no one to help. No one to hear. And Troy? What would happen to him?

Suddenly the door burst open and she looked up. A person entered wearing white. She recognized him immediately as her therapist.

"Hello Sharpay, how are you feeling this morning?" he asked cheerfully as if he was commenting on the weather.

Sharpay forced herself to sit up. "There's been some mistake," she told him. "I'm not crazy doctor. Please, let me go," she begged through tears.

"I'm sorry Sharpay, but you'll have to get used to the jacket and this room for a while. We can't have you killing other people, you understand?"

"But I didn't kill anyone!" she protested. "Troy's alive! He's in a tub in my room! I didn't try to kill Gabriella either. I was just trying to get her to kiss Troy."

But her therapist merely shook his head. "Now, now, no more of those wild stories. You're just confused Sharpay. But I'm going to make you all better."

He pulled something out of his coat pocket and Sharpay could see it an iPOD with little speakers. He set it up on one side of the room and turned it on. "Some little mood music might help," he said.

She recognized the song from its first notes. It was the English translation of "La Mer" or "Beyond the Sea." She remembered it as one of the songs from Finding Nemo.

"Somewhere beyond the sea

Somewhere, waiting for me…

The male voice was soothing. She always loved that song, but right now here in this white room, it just sounded frightening.

"My lover stands on golden sands

And watches the ships that go sailing…

"Nice song, don't you think?" asked her therapist and he began humming along to it.

"Somewhere, beyond the sea

She's there, watching for me

If I could fly like birds on high

Then straight to her arms, I'd go sailing…

Sharpay just watched him fearfully. What was he trying to do to her?

Suddenly the door burst open again and another person in a white nurse's uniform entered.

"Ahh, glad you can join us," said her therapist. "It's just about time for Sharpay's treatment.

Sharpay shuddered at the word "treatment" but she felt double the terror as she recognized who the nurse was: Gabriella.

She brought in this strange apparatus that looked like a pair of flat irons with coils of wire. Sharpay watched her in silence as she fiddled with some knobs on the device.

"Full power, doctor?" Gabriella asked, her voice dripping with honey.

"Yes, don't spare the power. We need it in maximum to make Sharpay all better," her doctor said the last words facing Sharpay as he wore the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.

Sharpay shrank back until her back was to the wall farthest from both of them.

"What are you going to do?" she asked fearfully.

Neither Gabriella nor her therapist answered for a long moment and only the singer from the player answered in its eerie way:

"We'll meet beyond the shore

We'll kiss just as before…

Finally Gabriella turned to her and held out the two flat iron shaped devices. It produced electric sparks between them and Sharpay suddenly realized it was electric shock treatment.

"Didn't I tell you, I'd make you suffer?" Gabriella sniped as she made the device produce sparks again.

Sharpay screamed but her voice seemed to be drowned out by the singer's voice, singing so merrily.

"Happy will be beyond the sea

And never again I'll go sailing…

Sharpay opened her eyes and found herself staring at her own bedroom ceiling. She felt her own ragged breath slow down as she took in her surroundings. She was in her bed in the island still and she was sweating through her cotton pajamas. There was no straight jacket and there was nothing purely white anywhere, just her perfect pink bedspread, that matched the light pink of her walls. She breathed a relieved sigh. It was just a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare.

She sat up suddenly as she remembered the previous events. From the dim sunlight that streamed in her room, she could tell it was late afternoon. How long had she been unconscious?

_Troy! _She thought fearfully.

She jumped out of bed and ran to her bathroom.

_"Troy! Troy! Are you still here?" _she screamed frantically as she peered into her tub. He didn't answer back and she saw why. The tub contained nothing but water. Her heart hammered frantically. Where was he? Someone must have taken him away. She thought of Gabriella and how she wanted him dead just to hurt her.

_What if she tossed him out in the air to die? Or bludgeoned him to death?_

A million horrible thoughts came into her head and she rushed back into her room determined to bang on it until someone let her out.

But when she got back to her room she heard the lock of her door being opened. She waited for a minute as the door slowly turned open and Gabriella came in quietly with a covered stainless steel food tray then closed the door behind her. She appeared to startle when she saw that Sharpay was awake.

"Where's Troy?" Sharpay demanded. "What have you done to him?"

"That's what I want to find out!" Gabriella said steely, her tone razor sharp. She kept her distance from Sharpay and put the food tray she was carrying on a side table. Sharpay stared at it with abject fear. "It's time to end this, Sharpay. No more games. Where's Troy?"

"I already told you, he's the fish! You took him away so you would know!"

"You're lying again!" shouted Gabriella. "I've had enough Sharpay. Tell me where Troy is! This isn't funny anymore!"

"You think this is for me?" cried Sharpay desperately. She got down on her knees. Sharpay never thought she would sink to this level of actually kneeling in front of Gabriella to beg. But she would do it and more if Gabriella would just assure her that Troy was still alive and not boiling in a pot in the kitchen. "Gabriella, please. I'll do anything you want. Just tell me, where he is? Give him back to me… please…"

But Gabriella stared at her with unyielding eyes. For a moment Sharpay thought the other girl was going to kick her, but she didn't. She walked to the table.

"So you want your fish back?" Gabriella taunted. Sharpay hated the knowing tone of her voice. "Alright fine. I came to give it back to you anyway… what's left of it."

Sharpay eyed the covered food tray and suddenly felt sick. She hurriedly ran to it and uncovered the lid. She gasped as she saw what was inside:

Fish bones, all heaped in an ugly pile along with the remnants of pickles and tomatoes it was stuffed with before it was cooked. The sprig of parsley and the cucumber that served as its garnish was the only thing that remained intact but it was currently soaked with the last juices of the fish mixed with a bit of the mayonnaise dressing.

"T-Troy…?" Sharpay uttered at the dead fish head. But it didn't move. Its eye that still seemed to stare at her was now just a white eyeball that hung limp, naked and ugly from its socket.

"There's your fish, Sharpay," said Gabriella. "It's dead and eaten. So you can stop with this nonsense. Where's Troy?"

Sharpay couldn't answer. Horrified, she felt the bile rise from her throat. She dropped the tray on the floor where it produced a loud clang. Then she ran to the bathroom and threw up. It was like her whole world was shattered and she couldn't stop belting out the contents of her stomach until she had nothing more to throw out.

"What's going on?" she heard her brother's voice from the next room. She knew he just entered but she was too sick to care. She kept seeing Troy lying in a plate dead while Gabriella opened his scaly skin with a knife and began to casually eat him with her fork, occasionally dipping his flesh first in mayonnaise before she put it in her mouth. The image made her furious. She stood up, washed her mouth and headed out the door.

"Gabriella, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked in surprise as he entered the room. He stared at the mess of the tray and fish bones on the floor, no doubt it was the sound of tray when it clanged on the floor that sent him running here. He looked up at her fearfully when he saw her appear, but Sharpay only focused on Gabriella.

"I didn't try to kill you before," Sharpay said ominously. "But now I will!"

She lunged at Gabriella with a rage she had never felt before. She managed to grab the girl's hair and pulled hard at it while she struggled to reach for her throat. She wanted to wring that heartless little murderess' neck and tear her to pieces the same as she did with Troy.

But she never got to. Ryan grabbed her from behind and pulled her away.

"Let me go!" she shouted as she struggled against her twin. "Let me go! She killed Troy! She ate him!"

Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Jason, Kelsi, Coach Bolton and her parents suddenly burst through the door and demanded to know what was going on. But Sharpay couldn't care less. She continued to struggle against Ryan.

"She's a murderer!" Sharpay shouted at Gabriella. "She killed Troy! Let me go!"

But Zeke and Chad only came over to help Ryan restrain her while Kelsi and Jason rushed to Gabriella's side. Only Coach Bolton, her parents and Taylor stood away in shock.

"What's going on?" Coach Bolton asked fearfully. "What happened to my son? Where is he?"

Sharpay was choking too much on her tears to respond. Troy's father stared at the mess of fish bones on the floor. "What's this doing here?"

"Isn't that last night's dinner?" asked Jason.

Sharpay felt even more ill, but she couldn't throw up anymore as her stomach was already empty. "YOU ALL ATE HIM?!!!" she screamed.

"That was her fish?" Ryan gasped in shock. "I mean the one we ate last night?"

"Yes, and it was really tasty, Sharpay," taunted Gabriella who now stood up and towered above her. "Your chef was really good. I told her last night to make it a special dinner and she did."

Sharpay lunged at her again but Ryan, Zeke and Jason held her back.

"Everyone had second helpings." Gabriella continued. "It was a good fleshy fish and—"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone jumped, even Sharpay. It was Taylor who screamed. She faced her best friend with fury burning in her eyes.

"Stop it Gabriella. Can't you see, it's upsetting her even more?"

"Well she deserves it. If she won't tell us where Troy is then maybe if we killed her fish—"

"Shut up, Gabriella!" This time it was Ryan who spoke. He let go of Sharpay and faced the other girl. "You knew how much that fish meant to her!"

"But… but…" This time it was Gabriella who appeared confused. "Who cares about a silly little fish?"

"She does," hissed Ryan. "Look, I know my sister's a bit unhinged right now but you had no right to torture her that way!" Sharpay was shocked at how forceful her brother sounded. And despite her sorrow over Troy, she was touched at Ryan's defense.

"Well my boyfriend's missing! And she knows where he is, I just know it! She's just pretending to be crazy and you're not doing anything about it!" she screamed back at Ryan.

"And you think making her suffer like this is going to help?" said Ryan. He stared at her with disgust. "My sister has a psychological problem. She has a history of that. But what you did was just plain cruel. It's like having her pet dog fed to us… that's just inhuman!"

Gabriella opened her mouth but no words would come out. She appeared too shocked at Ryan. She pulled away from Kelsi's grasp and ran out of the room. No one tried to follow her.

Sharpay sank down onto the floor and began sobbing again. She couldn't look at any of them now, knowing all of them had eaten Troy.

"Princess?" her father knelt beside her and she felt his hand on her head. "Sweetheart, I'll go get you another fish…"

She knew he was just trying to help, but he was just making it worse. "It wasn't a fish. It's Troy and you all ate him," she said bitterly. "Leave me alone."

"But Princess?" her father began.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

Her father shook his head but moved away. She heard everyone else head towards the door and it closed behind her. Slowly, she got up and headed to the overturned tray. She gathered the little bones and arranged them back in the tray as best as she could as she shed tears for him.

_"I'm sorry, Troy. I'm so sorry."_

She got up and took the bones to the bathroom. The most she could do was to wash his bones to remove the pickles and mayonnaise and give him a proper burial. She half-filled her bathtub with water and soaked the bones. As she did, she cried again, remembering how just a few hours ago he was swimming there with her.

When it was clean enough, she gathered the bones and tried to arrange them as much possible back in the tray. But there were missing fragments of bones. She had a sudden idea that perhaps there were more pieces of him in the trash in the kitchen. It wasn't a very tasteful prospect, but she felt she owed Troy the decency of finding whatever remains he still had, even if she had rummage at every single trash can in the entire household.

She was surprised that her door was left unlocked. She figured her family and friends didn't think she would go out. She stealthily moved downstairs. She passed by the living room where she heard her father talking with Coach Bolton.

"Jack, I'm really sorry about all this," her father said. "Rest assured I'm not going spare anything to find your son."

"I'm grateful," replied Coach Bolton. "Isn't there a way to get Sharpay to open up and tell us?"

Her father sighed. "We'll try. We'll get her the best specialists. I just don't understand why she's acting like this way again. It's been years. I shouldn't have let her back here. This place is doing strange things to her. It makes her say these things about fish."

There was a short pause and then Coach Bolton continued: "What if she isn't lying or crazy?"

"What do you mean?" asked her father. "That she can really talk to fish and that your son turned into one? That's not logical Jack."

"Then how do you explain what she knows about me? Those were the things only Troy knows. He's not the kind to just tell that to anyone. And if it's true," he paused and Sharpay seemed to hear him choke tears. "I've eaten…"

Sharpay wanted to come there and comfort him. But she knew she shouldn't be caught out of her room. She moved on and crept towards the kitchen. Fortunately it was empty at this time of day as the cooks and the rest of the staff were off somewhere else and wouldn't come back until they started dinner at four. She saw the clock and that it read sixteen minutes to four. She had a few minutes to search the trash can.

She looked for trash cans but found the ones under the sink empty. She felt a bit dismayed then headed outside to the kitchen extension. She had never been in this part of the kitchen before. She had never really done any cooking in her life as she always had staff do that for her. It was messier here with a lot of cluttered pots and pans, plastic containers, earthenware, and stocks of coal and wood. She searched around for the trash cans. It must be somewhere here in this mess. She knew the household practiced waste segregation so the organic refuse must be somewhere here, unless it was already thrown out.

She saw plastic three pails at one corner by the sink. She looked into one and found was only half full of water and contained freshly caught mud crabs. She checked another and found barely live shrimp. She was about to go off when something made her stop: a soft crying voice singing a very depressing version of "Beyond the Sea."

She thought of her nightmare and for a moment her imagination was playing tricks on her. Or maybe Troy's ghost was haunting her. But it kept on and she realized it was coming from the third pail. She rushed to it and found to her disbelief, Troy.

_"Troy!"_ she cried.

He rotated his eye upwards towards her. He couldn't move his body anymore because there was so little water in it. She noticed that he seemed to have a bruise on the top of his head.

_"S-__sharpay__?"_ he gasped.

_"Troy! It's me! You're alive!" _she cried happily. _"Hold on, I'll get you more water." _She quickly found a pot and filled it with water. She used it to add water to Troy's pail. Then she put her hand in where Troy delightfully brushed his tail against her fingers.

_"I thought you were dead!" _she sobbed._ "Gabriella brought me fish bones from her dinner last night. She said she had you cooked and everybody ate you. What happened?"_

_"She caught me from the tub last night. That's where I got the bruise. She forced me into the pail and brought me here."_

Sharpay caressed his head with gentle fingers. _"Does it still hurt?" _

_"A little.__ I don't think it's serious. I'm really more worried about being cooked. Gabriella ordered me cooked last night."_

_"I know! That little—" _and Sharpay couldn't help but give off a few expletives to describe Gabriella. Troy however, didn't say anything to defend his girlfriend. He kept silent as Sharpay told him about what happened in her room when she woke up.

_"How about you?" _she asked when she finished her tale. _"What happened? How did you escape from the cook?"_

_"I didn't. The cook was about to have me gutted but someone brought in a bigger fish. It talked to me. It said it was injured and I could tell it was already dying." _Troy's voice faltered to a choke. Sharpay knew he was relating something painful. _"It stopped talking after a while and I knew it was dead. I-I heard the sounds of chopping…"_

Sharpay felt him rest his head on her palm in an effort to seek comfort. She lightly touched his fins in return. _"Troy, it couldn't be helped. At least it wasn't you. Besides fish eat each other all the time too, you know. It was that fish's time." _Those were the same pathetic words of comfort Mama Liat told her countless times when she was young and threw tantrums when she refused to eat fish. Mama Liat herself also ate fish but she made sure they were from the sea and not the lake. But Sharpay could never get herself to eat fish. It's just that it's hard to eat something you can actually talk to.

_"It's still scary," _he said. _"It was the scariest moment of my life. I thought I would be next."_

_"Well, I'm here now. I'm going to take you away. Look, no one knows I'm out of my room. It's our chance. Let's go to the lake now. We only have a few more hours left before sunrise tomorrow."_

_"Alright.__ But you might want to bring a flashlight and some food," _suggested Troy. _"It might take us long."_

Sharpay thought that was prudent. Who knows how long they have to stay in there and they won't have any light if it gets dark. Besides, the sky was darkening and Sharpay could feel a storm coming. That won't help them either.

She went back to the kitchen with Troy. She set him down carefully on the counter and began her search for things. She found an emergency lamp and two small flashlights in a cabinet where she knew the kitchen maids stored the lights for the frequent blackouts in the house. She checked the refrigerator and found a bit of turkey. She realized she was hungry for she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. She ate some of it while searching for containers to fill up her supplies. She crumbled a bit of crumbs for Troy as well.

_"Don't worry about packing for me. I'm sure the algae in the lake will be quite sufficient,"_ he said between nibbles of crumbs.

She found some Tupperware and filled it with some bread, bits of turkey and a pack of unopened edam. She got another empty pail with a tight sealing lid to put her food and lights in. She carried that in one hand while she carried the other smaller pail with Troy in it in her other hand. It was fairly heavy but she made her way slowly out, cutting across the plantation towards Mt. Fufu, praying that no one could see her. The wind was blowing heavily on her and the sky was growing darker by the minute

_"Looks like a storm's coming again," _she told Troy.

_"Yeah, he sighed. Just like last time. You think __Fufu__ sent it again?"_

_"Maybe," _she replied. _"At least the storm can buy us some time. My Dad's planning on brining me home probably by tonight to resume therapy. But no chopper would come over during a storm here."_

They reached the foot of Mt. Fufu without being detected and Sharpay could breathe easier now that they had the shelter of trees. She began her climb of the mountain and made it to the top after several minutes. By the time they reached it though it had started to rain. She quickly descended to the lake before it rained even harder. They reached the edge of the lake by the time the heavens gave a downpour.

She dumped Troy into the water and got in herself.

_"Let's head to the cave," _Troy suggested. _"It will give us a bit of shelter."_

Sharpay knew Troy meant it was for her. He didn't really need shelter from the rain. He was a fish. But she appreciated that he thought about her welfare.

_"I need to call some of my friends first," she said. _She dove under and called out underwater:

_"__Hiapo! __Nahoa! __Kau'i! __Nani__! Kei! Are you here? It's __Sharpay__!"_

They waited for a few minutes and then a group of small fishes appeared. _"__Sharpay__!"_ called the leader of the school, the oldest among them called Hiapo. _"You've come back! How are you?" _It greeted politely before it noticed Troy. _"And who's your friend?"_

_"Everyone, this is Troy__,"_ said Sharpay. Troy said hello and the other fish murmured friendly greetings. _"Can we go to the cave? Troy and I need to talk to you."_

The other fish agreed. Sharpay resurfaced and retrieved her stash of food and lamps then dived back down. With the aid of the other fish and Troy they soon reached the shelter of the cave. Inside, the sound of the lashing rain outside was tempered and she didn't have to endure the water falling over her head constantly. It was pitch dark so Sharpay lit her lamp. While she did, more fish arrived when they heard of the news that Sharpay was back with a new friend. They all introduced themselves and clustered around Troy curiously.

_"You're handsome," _one fish Sharpay knew as Kau'i said to Troy.

_"__Uhhhmmm__, thank you," _said Troy who sounded rather embarrassed.

_"Mate with me?"_ said Kau'i. _"I can give you five hundred fingerlings in one go."_

_"Huh?" _Troy said in shock. Sharpay giggled at his confusion. She knew fish didn't possess any shyness. They were exceedingly frank creatures who didn't need to beat around the bush when it comes to finding mates.

_"You can have me next," _said another fish named Meli. She began to brush against Troy.

_"Wait your turn. I get him first!" _cried another fish.

Soon about a dozen females were fighting over Troy. Sharpay figured the fish here must consider Troy extremely handsome since he was brightly colored. Most of the fish in the lake were rather dull in hue by comparison. It was odd but Sharpay couldn't help but be reminded of the cheerleaders who were swooning over Troy back in high school. Troy, however, looked a bit lost that Sharpay couldn't help but laugh at him.

_"You can mate with all of my 5,000 something daughters if you want, but only after I'm through with you!" _cried one really old fish who managed to bulldoze through the younger females to get close to Troy. She began to brush at him aggressively. _"This old dame's still got it and I like them young!"_

Sharpay thought that if fish had facial expressions like humans, Troy would look exceedingly horrified right now at that comment. But she could still tell from the way his colors were fading exactly what he was feeling.

_"__Er__… __Sharpay__, help?" _he managed to mutter.

Even though she was enjoying herself too much at getting Troy embarrassed like this, Sharpay decided to stop it now. Besides, she was starting to get jealous herself.

_"Okay ladies, break it up. Give my friend some room__. You don't want him. Believe me, you don't want him," _Sharpay said.

_"Of course we do," _said Peleo. _"A young, big handsome one like him is hard to find in the lake. Thanks for bringing him over __Sharpay__." _

Some of the male fish groaned audibly and stared at Troy with looks of clear disdain. Sharpay decided to break this up before Troy ended up answering to a challenge for alpha male fish supremacy.

_"Sorry, but I didn't bring him here for that," _said Sharpay. _"Besides, he's not a real fish."_

_"We know," _piped one love sick female fish. _"He's a super fish lover. You can tell with that wonderfully strong bone structure and his colorful lines. __Yum __yum__."_

Sharpay saw Troy cringe and couldn't help but laugh out loud at his expense.

_"__Sharpay__?"_Troy begged. Sharpay decided to finally put him out of his misery.

_"No, he's not a fish at all. He's a human that got turned into a fish."_

All the other fish seemed to take a step back away from Troy at that revelation.

_"You jest right?" _asked the old female fish that propositioned him earlier.

Sharpay shook her head. _"Of course not.__Fufu__ turned my human friend Troy into a fish and that's him now."_

All the fish appeared to lose interest and quickly moved away from him. Most of them dispersed and disappeared until only five remained. They were Sharpay's original fish friends.

_"A shame,__" _said Kau'i as she shook her head at Troy. _"We two could have loads of fun having a few thousand fingerlings together. But I prefer my own kind, thanks."_

_"__Uhhmmm__… yeah, it's okay. I prefer my own kind too," _muttered Troy uncomfortably.

Sharpay got down from the rock and swam to be near Troy. _"Well that's what we came here for. We need your help. I need all your help. Do any of you know about __Fufu__ and the wishing shrine?"_

_"Oh you must never wish! Never wish!" _one of the fish uttered and the rest began murmuring the same words fearfully.

_"But this cave is the shrine right?" _asked Troy.

_"It is?" _asked Kau'i who was the youngest of them all.

_"__Sharpay__, she wasn't meant to know about that until she's older," _complained Kau'i's mother, Nani. And she began to warn her daughter about the dangers of wishing.

_"I didn't know about that either,"_ said Sharpay. _"And I wished here when I was nine."_

The fish gasped.

_"I was with your grandparents when I made the wish," _Sharpay explained.

The fish uttered even more horrified gasps.

_"How terrible!__ No wonder they died so suddenly after you made the wish! They were cursed!" _cried Peleo.

Sharpay thought about her first pair of original friends: Maka Koa and Hiwalani. They were Lucy's original fish that she set free in the lake. When she visited them for the first time in their new lake home, they showed her this cave they discovered. They spent so much time here every time they came to visit. She loved hearing about their new lives in the lake and how they were starting a family of a few thousand fingerlings. However, a week after she made her wish for Troy to become her prince, she returned to find them both gone. Their children reported to her that the couple died. Sharpay chalked it up to old age. After all, in fish years they had to be ancient by then. But now she couldn't help but wonder whether her first pair of fish friends also made a wish back then along with her and got cursed that led to their deaths. She felt warm tears spring down her cheeks at the thought.

_"__Sharpay__Sharpay__ Are you alright?" _cried Troy as he brushed against her arm. Her other fish friends did the same in an effort to comfort her. In halting tears she told them what she suspected then told the rest of her friends what happened so far to Troy. Troy helped tell the story along the way, including his near death experience with his girlfriend and their theory about Mama Liat. But when she finished, the fish merely shook their heads.

_"I'm sorry __Sharpay__," _said Nani. _"I've heard about the tale of the foolish fish but we don't know anything beyond what you just told us either. I wish I told you about the shrine though. I could have warned you. It's just that we don't talk about it. It's not a very comfortable subject among us fish."_

_"I don't blame you" _replied Sharpay._ "But we really need your help if you know anything about the cave and __Fufu__. I need to get Troy back."_

_"Well we don't really know much. As we said, nobody really talks about it, especially us younger ones," _said Hiapo. _"But I think I may know someone who could. There's an ancient fish still living at the somewhere in the depths of the lake. Maybe it could help. We'll try to find it, but can you wait? It might take a while even with the whole family looking."_

Sharpay shrugged. _"Well, Troy and I really have no where else to go. We'll wait, but please don't take too long. We really need to get him back before sunrise or I don't know if we'll get him back at all."_

Her fish friends nodded. _"We'll try to get back in a few hours. Just stay here."_

_"Thank you so much,"_ replied Troy gratefully.

_"Hey anything for __Sharpay__,"_ said Peleo. _"She's like our adopted sister anyway."_

And the fish all dived down and disappeared. Sharpay could hear them calling out to the rest of their family. Finally she was left all alone with Troy again.

_"So now we'll wait?_" said Troy.

Sharpay heaved a sigh. _"I suppose there's nothing much to do but that." _She sat back up on her rock and thoughts of Maka Koa and Hiwalani invaded her thoughts again. Suppose it was her stupid wish that caused them to die too? And now Troy might never get back to human form. She never hated herself so badly before.

_"Hey don't cry,"_ Troy's calming voice startled her. _"It's not your fault. You didn't wish for them to die." _

She was surprised how accurate Troy's guess of her thoughts were. But she continued to sob. _"It's __all my__ fault. If I hadn't made that stupid wish when I was nine, you wouldn't even be a fish."_

She felt him brush tenderly against her leg which was still submerged in the water. _"I don't blame you, okay. Besides, if you hadn't done that I wouldn't have gotten to know how great you are."_

_"You think I'm great?"_ she asked, touched.

He flicked his tail at her knee. _"Yes. I mean what kind of girl would risk her life to save a fish… or even kiss a fish for that matter."_

She giggled. _"You're not just any fish."_

_"Yes, I'm truly remarkable." _And he began singing her fish song. She laughed out loud and it felt good to do so after all the tension they had for days. When he finished they repeated the song and this time they sang it together the same way she did with Ryan last year. But when it was over, she felt her depressed mood return and she couldn't help but ask:

_"What if I can't get you back? What will we do?"_

_"Get on with life I suppose," _he said in a surprisingly calm tone. _"I suppose I could live here. Or you could set me free in the ocean. It doesn't sound bad. Maybe I could get to explore it."_

_"I'm serious, Troy!"_

_"So am I,"_ he said in a way that indicated he really was as if he was resigned to his fate and that was just plain scary.

She jumped back into the water and submerged herself to neck level to be near him. _"Troy __don't__ be like that. You can't lose hope."_

He swam next to her and brushed his tail on her cheeks in a seemingly futile effort to brush away her tears. It only got her cheeks even wetter but it was the thought that counts anyway. _"__Sharpay__, we have to look at the possibility that I will never get back and if I do, I don't blame you. But… if I'll be a fish…" _He paused for a moment and his voice choked with uncertainty. _"Will you… will you come see me… sometimes…?"_

Sharpay couldn't answer back. She was engulfed in too much tears. For as he mentioned the bleak possibility of spending a lifetime as a fish, she was also remembering that was she was also facing the possibility of ending up in a mental hospital ward.

_"__Sharpay__… don't… we'll still be together," _he said in a pathetic attempt of comfort.

_"No, we won't. __Because I'll be heading to a mental institution when they find me.__ And no doubt, they will find me and I can't prove you're a fish. They'll think I'm a nutcase."_

_"No you won't be a nutcase,"_ he said firmly. _"And they won't find you. We'll… we'll…" _he paused again as if he was thinking deeply and then uttered._ "Run away!"_

_"Run away?"_

_"Yes!" _he said as if it was the most brilliant plan. _"If I can't get back we'll run away together."_

_"How?__Where?"_

_"I don't know," _he said. _"But maybe we could steal a boat when the storm stops. We could go to some uninhabited island and we'll live there."_

Sharpay smiled. It was a nice idea. And they kept on talking about it, thinking of one silly scheme after another. Before long she grew hungry and ate her edam on bread while Troy snacked on some algae growing against the rocks. The emergency lamp died and Sharpay turned on one of the flashlights. They kept talking as the storm continued to rage outside. Yet they could never seem to run out of things to say. They played mind games, told each other jokes and sang when they ran out of theories on what to do.

Sharpay just turned on the third and final flashlight when she felt exhaustion kicking in. It must have been hours but her fish friends weren't back. She trusted that they wouldn't stop looking until they found the ancient fish or else report back to her. Finally, she lay down on a rock with her ear close to the water as possible so she could talk to Troy.

_"It must be late at night," _he said. There was really no way to tell as everything was dark except for the flashlight and the sounds of the storm were not letting up.

_"Yes,"_ she said as she yawned. _"I think I'll just close my eyes for a while." _She plunged her hand in the water to stroke his gill. _"Stay near me, Troy," _she added.

_"I will," _he said as he brushed against her fingers. _"I'm never leaving __Sharpay__. I'm never leaving you."

* * *

_

_**A/N: **__I know it's been probably more than a month since I last updated. I want to assure everyone I haven't abandoned this __fic__ yet. But I'm having a difficult time writing it due to my busy schedule. I don't know when I'll be able to update next. At the worst it will be January, at the earliest, probably before Christmas. Anyway I hope the long chapter will be enough to tide you over for a while. __I'm__ really sorry for the long wait._

_I'm not exactly sure if the song "Beyond the Sea" is part of the official soundtrack of Finding __Nemo__, but they did play that song as a background while they were advertising the Finding __Nemo__ premiere in the Disney Channel in Asia. But I do love the song (it's quite old, I think it was written in 50s) and I like the lyrics. _

_I got the names for __Sharpay's__ fish friends __from a website of Hawaiian pet names__. To those of you who are Hawaiian, did I get the names right or does it not make any sense at all?_


	14. Troy's Wish

**A/N: **I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and I do apologize for the long delay in update. I got major writer's block on this story in addition to having no time to write at all. I'm trying to write now so I can finish it as fast as I can. This story still has a lot of chapters to go because I came up with two different ways to end it. As a treat for all of you, I'm giving you both endings (kinda like those "Choose Your Own Adventure Books"). This chapter is the last chapter that follows one plotline. After this chapter, I will present one ending and when that ends, I'll present the other alternative ending.

Thanks again for all those who waited patiently for this. Really sorry for the delay.

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Troy's Wish**

He woke up to darkness but his fish senses allowed him to feel his way around. He could tell that the storm outside had receded to light rain. Everything was quite except for Sharpay's quiet purring in her sleep and that was just the most comforting sound he had ever heard. He allowed himself to be lulled in the comfort of her closeness for a moment and he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sadness hit him.

In those miserable hours that he lay in that pail half-filled with water in the kitchen he let himself dwell on the possibility of never becoming human again. It depressed him knowing he would never see his family or friends again. He would never have a career in basketball or go to college or experience life as a human. But those horrible thoughts were even worse when he thought of Sharpay and what would happen to her if he never returned to human form. The image of Sharpay being subdued then locked up in some mental ward haunted and terrified him even more than spending the rest of his short life as a fish.

He couldn't understand it. He had known Sharpay for almost all his life but it seems that it was only now that he bothered to really get to know her. And somehow in the last three days as a fish he discovered so many things about her beyond the unfeeling, uncaring and resourcefully sly personality he knew about her when he was human. She was just this complex jumble of contradictions. She was good humored but sarcastic, courageous despite her vulnerabilities, and egotistical on the outside yet selfless when it mattered most. He wanted so desperately to uncover all of what she is. A sudden thought came to him that he would gladly be a fish forever if he could continue to be near her like this and discover more about her. He brushed himself lightly against her hand. He was cold but she was so warm to his touch and he couldn't get enough of the feel of her. She was so comfortable that maybe he could just fall asleep again…

Suddenly, he jolted wide awake as he remembered that they were probably racing against the dawn!

"_Sharpay! Sharpay!"_ he called frantically. _"Sharpay! Wake up, what time is it?"_

"_Wh-what?"_ Sharpay moaned softly before screaming in panic: _"Oh no! Troy I fell asleep, I'm so sorry! Troy, are you there? I can't see anything." _She submerged herself in the water and made a gesture of feeling it with her hands. Troy realized as a human, Sharpay was blind in the dark. The last of her lamp must have run out of power hours ago. Troy quickly swam towards her hand and brushed at her skin.

"_I'm here, I'm here. I can see you. Can you feel me?" _

"_Yes, Troy I can. Are any of the fish back yet?"_

"_No, we're alone." _He paused as he felt a movement in the water. And then he could see them: dozens of fish were back with Kau'i leading the way. The little fish was swimming excitedly towards them.

"_Sharpay! Sharpay! We've found it!"_ Kau'i cried. _"We've found the old fish."_

"_They're here Sharpay, they're back with the old fish," _Troy said for Sharpay's benefit though he didn't have to as several voices echoed similar cries. They grew louder and louder as more fish appeared inside the cave and the noise grew as deafening as the East High gymnasium in the middle of a championship match.

Troy saw several fish including Hiapo and Nahoa were pushing forward a very old fish. The fish was dark gray and its scales were worn with age. One of its eyes, Troy knew was completely blind while the remaining eye couldn't possibly be good for much longer. It moved sluggishly and Troy knew that if the younger fish weren't pushing behind, it might not be able to move on its own.

"_Is that… human fish?"_ asked the old fish in a weak gravely voice. It was barely a whisper yet it immediately shut up the other fish until the cave was completely silent. Everyone appeared to be eager to listen to what the old fish had to say. _"Bring me closer…to human fish..." _

Troy decided to save them the trouble and approached the old fish himself. Sharpay submerged her head underwater to listen closely and thanked her friends for finding the old fish.

"_My name is Troy. I was the human who turned into a fish. Can you help us please?" _Troy asked. _"Do you know about Fufu? Is there a way to make a wish to Fufu to turn me back without being cursed?"_

The old fish kept silent for a long moment that Troy thought it didn't hear him. But then it spoke again:

"_Great Spirit does not grant wishes… No dear human, no! Great Spirit never gives wishes… only curses…"_

Troy could barely make out what it said, let alone the meaning of the old fish's words.

"_What do you mean?"_ Sharpay asked and Troy could hear the terror in her voice.

"_Liat is foolish fish… true," _the fish said as if it didn't hear Sharpay. It went on with the same weak and halting voice though Troy could still the feel the bitterness of its tone. _"Liat… not at fault! It is the human!"_

It paused again for a long time before it continued: _"Human wished to talk to fish… not its own kind… human wanted to talk to a fish, not its own!"_ The last statement was brimming with so much resentment that Troy shivered fearfully. _"Human asked for the curse… Curse fall to Liat… poor Liat… poor Liat… Poor Liat learned to talk human…"_

Troy understood even though it was vaguely said. The fish was saying that there was a human who wished to be able to talk to fish and probably wished for it. That wish granted Mama Liat to talk using the human language.

"_Poor Liat… Poor Liat…" _the old fish continued to mumble incoherently until Sharpay had to intervene:

"_You know Mama Liat? How do you know about her?"_

The fish stopped mumbling and eyed her carefully. _"Liat… is my poor grandmother's sister, poor Liat..."_

There were gasps of surprise from the fish and the cave suddenly erupted into noisy whispers again at this revelation. Most of the fish appeared to be quite scandalized that a fish on the lake living near them was actually related to the so-called "foolish fish." The noise grew so much that it reminded Troy of those silly cheerleaders in school whenever some fresh gossip arose in school. It droned on so loudly that finally Hiapo and Nahoa began to shout for silence. Their shouts were unheeded and Troy was getting desperate.

Suddenly a high pitched shriek broke through the noise. It took Troy a moment for his hearing to recover and realize that it was Sharpay who screamed. He recognized it from the way she shouted when he told her he wasn't singing with her at the Lava Springs talent show last summer. Before, he thought that was a rather irritating trait, but right now he was grateful for the talent as it effectively silenced all the fish.

"_I'm sorry," _she mumbled through the quiet. _"But we really need to get to hear what the elder has to say."_ She turned to the old fish. _"You say that Mama Liat was your grandmother's sister?"_

"_Yes, yes… it is true… poor Liat… is my ancestor… poor Liat…"_

" _Please tell us more," _Sharpay cut it off hurriedly before the old fish could launch into another round of incoherent mumbling.

"_I remember Liat…" _the old fish replied in an even weaker voice that Troy had to strain his senses to hear it. _"Liat is nice fish… but strange fish… not like my mother… not like me… not like any fish…"_

"_How so?" _asked Hiapo.

"_Liat… no offspring… Liat does not mate with other fish…"_

The whispers began again and Troy could guess from the way the other fish sounded scandalized that refusing to mate among the fish was something of an oddity.

"_Why not?" _asked Sharpay loudly to be heard above the noise. The fish all stopped gossiping and silence resumed. Troy figured they didn't want another shriek from Sharpay.

"_Liat just strange… but Liat is nice fish. Liat cared for me… Liat cared for my sisters… Liat cared for all even without mate… But the human came… forced the curse… human wished for curse… Human wished for curse on Liat… Cursed Liat talked to human… Poor Liat didn't stop talking to human… Poor Liat then _

_wished for curse… Poor Liat wished for curse to be human… Be human to be with human… Poor Liat… Poor Liat… Poor Liat left lake… Poor Liat… Poor Liat… Poor Liat…"_

The old fish continued mumbling senselessly, but Troy gathered enough to piece together what happened based on what he heard about Mama Liat before. Perhaps the man that became Mama Liat's husband wished for her to be able to understand him. And when she did, Mama Liat wished herself to become human so she could be with him. The old fish didn't seem to think this was a good thing. Troy could understand that considering his own family wouldn't think it would be a good thing either if he disappeared to become a fish forever. But somehow Troy couldn't blame Mama Liat for wishing to be a human even if it did mean leaving her family and her life behind. What if she did it because she loved this man?

He thought about Sharpay and somehow he could relate. He realized he wanted nothing more than to be with her. A reckless thought came to him that he would willingly give up everything he had as a human—the promise of a career, his family, his friends—just so he could forever be close to this girl. He rotated his eye and watched her surface for a minute to catch breath before rejoining them underwater. Oh what would he give to watch her like this always?

"_Do not be foolish… human... Wishing to Great Spirit is asking for a curse!"_

The warning jolted him. He turned his attention back to the old fish who slumped down in exhaustion.

"_But what about the legend?" _Sharpay frantically asked. _"About Fufu and Princess Tiki? Is that true? Can we get Troy back in other ways that he can't be cursed? Please… Please…"_

But the fish no longer seem to hear her. _"Do not wish… it is a curse… do not wish… do not wish…" _It kept on and on despite Sharpay's questions. The other fish joined her in questioning but the old fish merely repeated those three little words of warning like a broken record. It went on for sometime until finally the old fish stopped speaking altogether and Troy saw it slump down. The other fish saw it too and immediately shut up.

Only Sharpay kept on pleading, unaware of what was happening. _"Please, sir! Please! You have to tell us another way to get him back—"_

"_Sharpay stop!" _Troy shouted. _"It's dying!"_

That quieted Sharpay down. Troy approached the old fish and as he did, he heard it whisper one last time: _"Do not wish…"_ Its one eye became still and it floated freely in the water. It took a moment for Troy to realize it just died.

"_What's happening Troy?" _Sharpay whispered fearfully.

"_It's gone, Sharpay." _It was Nahoa who answered for him. _"It's gone to join the Great Spirit, as all of us do when we leave."_

Troy heard a sniffle from Sharpay but she said nothing. He watched as the carcass of the dead fish floated away out of sight. Nobody approached it and Troy didn't want to know what would happen to it. He felt that the death of the fish signified the death of his own hope. There was nothing they can do 

now. Either way—whether or not he used his wish to turn him back, he was cursed. There was no alternative. He felt Sharpay rise to the surface and he saw her cover her face with her hands and slumped her arms on the edge of the rough rock. Troy could tell from the way her body was shaking that she was crying again. Her fish friends were immediately by her side touching her softly and uttering words of comfort but she continued to wail like a wounded animal. _"Troy, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"_ she uttered between sobs.

Troy slowly swam towards her and brushed against her arm. _"It's okay. It's okay. So I'm a fish, we'll get through this somehow. We're still together. That's what's important," _he said desperately in an effort to comfort her despite his own loss of hope. The other fish seemed to sense his misery and began crowding around him, brushing at him while offering reassurances that he will always be welcome to be one of them. Troy couldn't help but feel touched by the gesture. He realized why Sharpay loved the fish in this lake so much. Even though they can be gossipy and loud sometimes, deep down, they were warm and friendly without prejudice.

"_Humans! Humans in the lake!" _several shrill voices suddenly cut through the words of comfort and startled Troy out of his thoughts. Troy turned to find several new small fish emerge. _"There are humans in the lake!"_

The cave went silent. Troy strained his sense of hearing and he could barely hear the sound of human voices somewhere beyond the cave walls. He noticed Sharpay too was listening intently before her face contorted to panic.

"_They're here! They're looking for me!" _She turned to stare desperately at Troy. _"It's over! They'll take me away and they'll lock me up!"_

"_B-but you'll come back won't you?" _asked Nahoa. _"You'll come back to see use Sharpay? We promise to take care of your friend and we'll wait for you!"_

Sharpay can only shake her head.

"_But they won't find you here," _reasoned Kau'i. _"Just don't go out of the cave."_

"_I can't survive here forever,"_ Sharpay replied. _"I'm not a fish."_ She reached a hand out into the water. Troy took the hint and swam towards her open palm. _"I'm sorry Troy. But it's over. I-I'll turn myself in. I-I'll make up a story… I'll say you drowned in the sea and I lied... Anything… hopefully they'll think I'm sane enough to let me back here."_

She made a move to dive down but Troy cried: _"Wait Sharpay, don't! It's not over yet!" _

Sharpay stopped. _"There's nothing we can do, Troy. You heard what the old fish said. If you wish, you will be cursed! Or if not you, someone else will be."_

Troy knew that but he was past caring. All he knew was if he let Sharpay go outside and turn herself in she would be declared insane or else face murder charges. He couldn't let that happen. And if he had to face an unknown curse he would do it.

"_I'm using my wish,"_ he declared. _"And I don't care what happens to me."_

"_Troy, no!"_ Sharpay pleaded.

"_Anything is better than this!" _he argued.

She bit her lip uncomfortably for a moment then nodded. _"Alright then," _she mumbled. _"Wish yourself back but—"_

"_No! Wish for Sharpay to be a fish!" _interrupted Kau'i. _"So she can be with us forever."_

"_Shush!" _admonished Nahoa. _"You don't know what you're saying!"_

"_Why not?" _asked Peleo. _"We've always wanted Sharpay here. She's always been our friend." _He turned to the other fish. _"Don't you all want Sharpay here?"_

The fish all murmured their assent coupled with affectionate praises for Sharpay and invitations to welcome her as part of the family.

"_Thank you, thank you," _Sharpay said through tears. _"That's very kind of you, but Troy needs to go back," _she added as she looked at him.

But Troy's head was spinning with the idea. What if he did wish for Sharpay to be a fish? If he did, no one would find her anymore. She could continue living in this lake with all her fish friends—free from being branded insane. Free from all the heartaches of being a human. But most of all free to be with him. It was the ultimate escape.

"_Is that possible?" _Troy asked uncertainly. _"Can I wish for you to be a fish?"_

Sharpay's face lit up and he knew she was considering that too. _"I think so. I mean if Fufu turned you into a fish, he can turn me too."_ The way she said it was so calm, so accepting. It was as if she had no fear of becoming a fish. But he had to know.

"_Sharpay, what are you saying? You're willing to be…"_

Sharpay held out her other hand to gently stroke her fish friends. She bit her lip nervously for a moment and he could see the indecision in her eyes before uttering: _"It wouldn't be so bad. These are the only real friends I had in my life. I've always been happy with them…" _She paused to look at him. _"But I don't want you to take away your humanity… It's your choice Troy. I leave it up to you, because I—" _she cut off suddenly.

"_Because you what?" _he asked.

Sharpay looked away from him and said nothing.

"_Sharpay? What is it?" he asked gently._

She bit her lower lip in the way he noticed that indicated she was uncomfortable before heaving a sigh and replying: _"Because I love you."_

Troy wasn't surprised. He knew she had always liked him ever since they were little kids. But he still felt good hearing those words coming from her. They were sincere and without pretense and he knew she meant it.

"_I've loved you for years but I just couldn't tell you," _she said in barely a whisper_. " And if you have to make a wish, do it for yourself. Wish for something that can turn you back and shield you from whatever curse even if I have to take it. Because that's what I'd wish for if the wish was mine."  
_

"_Sharpay…" _He couldn't say anything else but utter her name so touched he was at her declaration. But now he was left even more indecisive of what to wish for. He knew that whatever wish he made he would do for her benefit and not his. If he wished her to be a fish he could save her from being locked up and possibly set her free to live here where she could be happy with her fish friends. But then she would lose everything that being a human had to offer. She would never see her family again. What about her dreams of being an actress on stage? Was she truly willing to give that up? He didn't mind imposing a curse on himself, but he couldn't live with the fact that he would impose that curse on her.

What right did he have to decide on her life?

"_Troy please," _Sharpay pleaded. _"You have to wish now! The sun's rising!"_

Troy realized she was right. The cave was beginning to lighten. In a moment the slivers of sunlight would enter the cave indicating dawn.

"_Troy!" _Sharpay repeated. _"Wish now before it's too late!"_

"_I don't know… I can't!" _Troy cried desperately.

"_Troy please! Do it now! It may be the only chance we've got."  
_

But he couldn't think. He couldn't think of any way to word it so the wish would have the least possible damage. His mind was all a jumble and to make matters worst the fish began shouting again:

"_Wish for her to be a fish!"_

"_No wish to be a human again!"_

"_No, no, no, it's a curse! Don't wish at all!"_

"_Let Sharpay be a fish!"_

"…_don't wish!"_

"…_the curse! The curse!"_

"…_go back to being human!"_

It was all too much. He couldn't take it anymore. Finally he shouted out in frustration:_  
_

"_I JUST WISH THERE WAS SOME WAY TO MAKE SHARPAY HAPPY!"_

Sharpay's eyes bulged and he heard the fish around him gasp in unison. It took him a moment to realize that he just uttered a wish.

"_Troy… you didn't!"_ muttered Sharpay.

Troy could only stare back at her in utter terror. Did he just waste his one wish? But slowly as he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Deep in his heart, that was what he wanted—to make Sharpay happy and he didn't care what it took to do it.

"_I meant it, Sharpay,"_ he said softly. _"I just want you to be happy." _

She didn't say anything and none of the fish uttered a word. It was a long time that they remained unspoken. All he knew was that slowly, the cave began to lighten as the streaks of sunlight filtered through cracks of the cave roof. Finally he could see Sharpay clearly and her face stared down at him as soon as she could see him. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks. He stared back at her, resigned to his fate and did the only thing he could do: He swam nearer to her. At the same time she lowered her face in the water until she was completely submerged. Troy didn't hesitate as he pushed forward until his mouth reached hers.


	15. Wheresover she was, there was Eden

**Chapter Fifteen **

"**Wheresoever she was, **_**there **_**was Eden"**

Adam at Eve's grave

(Excerpt from "Adam's Diary" by Mark Twain)

Her hands gently reached to cover his tiny body to deepen her kiss. He kissed her back and even in the awkwardness of the position of their mouths he felt that feeling of bliss that he had never felt with any other girl.

Suddenly he felt her stop and she pulled back abruptly from him to rise to the surface.

Suddenly she screamed and his heart raced with terror. Her whole body fell under a sliver of sunlight from the cave roof. He could see clearly that she was in great pain and it was because her body was quickly deforming. She was looking down at her hands and they were disintegrating to nothingness, while her face was being twisted into a grotesque shape.

"_Oh no! What have I done?!"_ Troy cried in horror. _"Sharpay! Sharpay!" _His own cries were muffled by the shouts of the panicky fish. But neither Troy nor any of her fish friends could do anything.

"_Stop it, please!" _Troy screamed to the water in a plea to Fufu. _"Take me! Take me! Let the curse fall on me! Please!" _

Sharpay's screams died out as she disintegrated into the water, leaving her clothes to float on the surface. Troy dived down to where she disappeared and began shouting her name amidst the tangled cloth of her clothes.

"_Sharpay! Sharpay! I'm sorry! Please don't be dead! Sharpay I'm—ommph!"_

He bumped into something—or someone. He could tell by his senses it was another fish around the same size as him.

"_Watch it!" _the fish complained.

"_Sorry, I—"_ Troy abruptly stopped. He recognized that voice.

"_Sharpay?"_

"_Troy… what happened?"_

There was no mistake about it. It was her voice and it was coming out from the other fish he just bumped into. The fish moved away from floating cloth and into the light. Troy could now confirm that the fish was indeed similar to his size, only slightly smaller. She had the same shape of body and fins though they appeared to be softer—more feminine. Instead of blue and silver streaks, she was pinkish all over with a singular gold stripe and a few touches of silver. Troy thought she was very pretty and the more he stared at her the more he felt attracted to her. She was making things to his body that would be very embarrassing for him if she found out about it.

"_Sharpay, you're a fish," _he managed to mutter as he tried to suppress the feelings he had inside.

"_I am?" _And her head rotated so she could stare at herself. Her eyes bulged in surprise and he knew how she felt from the first time he discovered his new form. He didn't say anything but let the fact of it sink in with her. He was also trying to make sense of what just happened.

So this was how Fufu granted his wish. He turned Sharpay into a fish and a very pretty one at that, he had to add.

_Hormones, Troy, control the hormones, _he silently admonished himself but he realized that was a little harder to do as a fish, especially when she was giving off something that was making him want to brush against her and do… well he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do with her but he had an idea and it was making him very uncomfortable.

He was saved the trouble of doing anything at all when the other fish crowded around them to stare at Sharpay. Nahoa was the first to approach.

"_Sharpay? Is that really you?"_

"_Yes," _she replied. She still had a bewildered look about her and she kept rotating her head to look at her new body, as if she was assessing every part of her and scrutinizing if she still looked perfect. Troy was struck at how familiar that gesture was about Sharpay. Even as a fish, she was still vain.

"_You're a fish now," _Kau'i said excitedly. _"Does that mean you can stay with us?"_

Sharpay finally stopped assessing her gorgeous pink tail to stare at her friends. _"Yes, yes, I suppose… "_ Then her face lit up as if she just realized what it meant and she continued on more enthusiastically. _"Oh yes, yes! I'll stay, of course I'll stay. I'm free! I'm free now! Oh this is wonderful!"_

Troy noted the joy in her voice. And he knew that Fufu did grant his wish. This is what it took to make Sharpay happy. This was what she wanted all along to be free to live with the family she had always longed for. And the fish all seemed to be so pleased that she could be with them.

"_Welcome sister!"_

"_You're one of us now!"_

"_This is going to be so much fun. We'll take you around to explore the lake."_

Troy let her soak up in the praises of the other fish. This was Sharpay's moment with her real family and he didn't dare intrude though he felt a bit left out. He turned away to hang by the side of a rock. He thought of the world he left behind—his family, his friends. He knew he would never see them again. He would never have the basketball career he always longed to have or go to college or experience anything as a human anymore. Already, he was forgetting what that it felt like. It was as if he had lived all his life as a fish and was getting used to the fact of being one. But while he still had traces of humanity left in him, he allowed himself to feel the regret of his wish. He knew this was his lifelong curse just as the old fish had said.

"_Hey, Sharpay's friend? What's your name again?" _a large young male grayish-brown fish called out to him in a friendly manner. There were three other young male fish with him the same color of scales. He could tell from the similarities of features that they were somehow related though they differed in built. He recognized them as among the fish that were scowling at him last night when all the female fish were offering to give him fingerlings. His heart pounded as he sensed trouble was afoot.

"_I'm Troy," _he replied evenly as he assessed whether he had to fight them. Three of them were obviously bigger than him and only the fourth one appeared to be a ninny. His heart sank as he knew that he would lose in a fight of four to one.

But to his surprise, the first one that greeted him gave him a somewhat equivalent to a friendly smile. "_Welcome to the family Troy. I'm Mano." _Mano introduced the other fish as Kei, Kanunu and Makaha. They echoed friendly greetings to Troy that he couldn't help but feel at ease. Still, he wondered if they were just pretending to be friendly while waiting for the right moment to pounce on him.

"_Kei here is the serious one," _explained Mano indicating the smallest one. Troy was reminded of the class nerd but said nothing. _"Kanunu is the strongest in family. Very handy when helping distressed silly sisters who get in tight fixes in the rocks and Makaha is the fiercest warrior around. Defends any little siblings who encounter predators."_

"_And I got the marks for it too,"_ Makaha proudly showed off his damaged fin. Troy couldn't help but give an internal laugh. These fish remind him so much of how the other boys he knew would brag about their exploits. But he remained cautious with them as they might give him serious damage.

"_What about you Mano? What do you do?" _Troy asked. He was really fishing for clues here on what these fishes' intentions were to him.

Mano gave what could only be described as an arrogant swagger. _"I'm the best lover around. I got more than a hundred females with fingerlings." _

Troy felt a cross between disgust and admiration for the fish.

"_Yes,"_ Mano continued to brag. "_Every female fish in this lake is going to give me fingerlings one day. No one can resist me."_

Troy suddenly felt alarmed for Sharpay and made him angry at this fish. The thought of her being pursued by this Don Juan made him sick.

"_Well maybe not every female fish would have you,"_ Troy challenged hotly before he shut his mouth again. He realized that it would not do good to charge into a fight with this fish when he was clearly outnumbered.

"_And who's going to challenge me? You?"_ Mano sneered as he came within an inch of Troy's snout in a manner of sizing him up. Troy slowly backed down and braced himself to swim away if he had to. But Kanunu came up between them in a clear effort to break them up.

"_Leave it alone Mano. The poor fish is cursed enough as it is. You don't have to rub it in."_

And to Troy's surprise Mano did back down and put on a rather apologetic expression. _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put it that way. Look, I can try to convince some of my daughters to mate with you if you want, but I don't think I'll have much success even with them. I'm no miracle worker you know."_

Troy was confused. _"M-mate with me? I don't understand…"_

The four fish said nothing and all of them looked rather embarrassed. Troy could tell they were embarrassed for him. Finally Kei, spoke up in a grave tone.

"_No female fish will want to mate with you. They know you were human and we fish just don't mate with our own kind even if you are a fish now… that will just be… no offense, okay… it's kind of disgusting."_

"_But you're still welcome as part of the family," _Mano hurriedly added as if it was trying to make Troy feel better. _"We can all be friends. You can be friends with all the other females too, but I don't think they'll let you mate with them—"_

"_Cut it out Mano!" _admonished Kanunu. _"Let's just stop talking about it." _Kanunu then turned to whisper to Troy: _"Don't mind Mano's bluntness, swelled head that one, see? It comes from never getting rejections from females. Mano just doesn't understand the rest of us have to work hard to court the females first." _

Troy was beginning to understand. These fish no longer consider him as a threat since all the female fish didn't want to mate with him. He began to relax and believe that these fish sincerely wanted to be his friends. They appear to pity him though as they seem to think not having a mate constitutes as the worst possible curse. But he didn't really care for all the other female fish. He only cared for one of them. And at that moment he caught sight of that one female fish leaving her circle of friends to join him.

"_Hello new sister," _Mano greeted her in a rather flirtatious tone that Troy felt a bit alarmed.

"_Hey Big Daddy, how's it going with your kids?"_ Sharpay asked Mano in a teasing manner that indicated she wasn't responding one bit to his flirting. _"How many do you have now?" _Troy suppressed a laugh. Sharpay had a way to put people in a different perspective.

"_Lost count," _replied Mano. _"But that hasn't stopped me from getting more. Lots of females growing up everyday. Lots of work for me."_

Sharpay gave a bright laugh that sent tingles down Troy's spine. He just couldn't stop watching her and whatever it was she was giving off was having an effect on him again. She gave friendly greetings to the other fish and inquired about them before asking them to excuse her and Troy.

"_I need to talk to him for a while,"_ she said.

"_Sure, Sharpay,"_ said Kanunu and Troy noticed the fish's tone seemed to give a hint.

"_Take your time," _added Kei in the same hinting tone.

Mano didn't say anything. He just gave Troy the equivalent of a knowing grin.

Troy was confused. Was it some kind of fish language he had yet to grasp? It was Makaha however, who finally gave him the answer in a whisper: _"Hey, maybe Sharpay will mate with you. I mean Sharpay's just one, but at least you've got one. No male fish will want to mate with Sharpay either anyway, not even Mano here. You can still have plenty of fingerlings."_

Troy was instantly relieved. He wouldn't want any other fish to mate with Sharpay.

"_Coming Troy?" _she called back.

"_Uhhhmmm… yes." _Troy muttered before turning away so he could stop seeing his new fish friends cheering him like a couple of maniacs.

"_Hey Troy, name some of your fingerlings after me, okay? I promise to train them to be the next warrior like me," _Kanunu called out loudly.

Troy didn't reply. He felt deeply embarrassed that it was loud enough for Sharpay to hear. But if she did hear it, she said nothing. She kept swimming ahead of him.

She led him out to the familiar entrance out of the cave until they were under bright sunlight. But she didn't stop and until they came to several large rocks covered in moss. As a human he wouldn't have noticed this at all, but as a fish he could see something else. The rocks loomed above him like mountain ranges coated in an endless splendor of green. Vines tangled like wild masses of a giant maiden's hair curtained the cliffs to join the waters below. It was like being in a magnificent garden made of edible and delicious things. For a moment Troy was struck at the beauty of the lush foliage that grew here. And it stretched on forever for what seemed like miles all around the lake. Everywhere he looked he saw paradise waiting to be discovered.

"_I can't thank you enough Troy." _He was startled by Sharpay's voice and remembered that she was there. He turned to her. _"You don't know what this means to me. You set me free."_

"_Well I mean it. I want you happy."_

"_And I am." _Her expression saddened. _"But Troy, I—" _

What she said was cut off when Troy felt a movement in the water and a noise that he recognized as a human voice. He strained his vision and saw several men diving in the water and coming up again. More and more people were coming into the lake and diving in it. He focused on one of them and recognized his father. He was shouting his name and Troy felt the desperation in his voice. Troy wanted to turn away to eliminate the pain in his own heart, but he couldn't. He just wanted to see his father even from a distance.

"_I'm sorry Troy," _Sharpay cried. "_If there was someway I could get you back, I'll do it."_

Troy said nothing and continued to watch his father. He wished there was just some way to comfort him and tell him he was alive. But he knew there was none. He no longer dared to ask any of the fish to 

make a wish to turn him back. The price of the curse was too steep and he didn't want to cause pain on anyone.

But did he even want to go back to being human at all? When he thought about going back without Sharpay and never seeing her again, he felt an unbearable sadness. Even if he did find a way to go back, his life would still be a curse without her in his life.

He turned back to stare at her. Here she was, the beautiful fish that loved him. Behind her was the family of fish that accepted him and the lake that promised a life of endless adventure—a new world he would discover with her. If leaving his old home was a curse, entering this life with Sharpay was a blessing.

He glanced back at his father one last time. His Dad got out of the water and was helped up the Evans' staff back up the hill. Troy watched until his father disappeared completely from sight. It was only then that he turned back to Sharpay.

"_No," _he shook his head. _"No more wishes. No more curses. I want to be here, with you."_

Sharpay's face brightened. _"I love you, Troy. I promise, I'll do anything to make you as happy as you made me."_

And as she said it, she brushed her silky tail against him, sending all kinds of sensations shooting up his body. Troy instinctively retaliated by brushing back. He felt her shiver and knew that she was feeling the same things he was feeling.

She pulled back abruptly and gave him a fish equivalent to a pout. _"Whoa, fish-boy, slow down. I may be a fish but I don't give in that easily. We don't even have a first date yet."_

Troy grinned back at her. _"Well then how about breakfast together for our first date?"_

"_Sounds good," _she said. _"I get to pick the part of the lake where we dine?"_

"_Anything, Princess Tiki,"_ he teased before his eyes narrowed down to hint: _"Do I choose where we get dessert afterwards?"_

The color of her body turned a darker shade of pink and her silver streaks shone for a moment. Somehow he understood that she was getting excited as she caught on to his meaning. But she put on a sly fish pout. _"Only if you catch me."_

She took off swimming away. Troy gaily swam after her into the maze of lush foliage that was to be their new home.

_**A/N: **__There is one more chapter for this version, two if it gets too long (I'm not exactly sure since I haven't written it yet). After I finish with this version of the ending I'll post the 2__nd__ alternative ending. _

_Now just a few notes: _

_I figured fish give off particular pheromones that attract other fish. That's what Sharpay's giving off that's making Troy's fish hormones crazy. _

_I figured too fish put quite a lot of importance on getting offspring. I mean they do lay eggs by the hundreds. Just a bit of trivia for you: Baby fish that just hatched are called "fry" while "adolescent" fish or those who are a little older than fry but are not old enough to reproduce yet are called "fingerlings." Even though fish lay lots of eggs, very few of them survive long enough to become fry. I credit my boyfriend for supplying me with this information. He also suggested that the fish in my story don't name their "fry" yet until they survive to become "fingerlings." (Saves the parents the trouble of naming them considering they are so many and not all of them will survive anyway. It kind of reminds me of that scene in Finding Nemo. Remember when Marlin and his wife Coral were talking about naming their eggs. They were so many that Marlin suggested they just name half of the eggs Marlin Jr. and the other half Coral Jr.). _

_The title of this chapter comes from Mark Twain's short story: "Adam and Eve's Diary." It's a very funny and touching account that tells the story of Adam and Eve through each one's point of view. If you can get a copy of the story (it's part of a collection of stories), read it. I guarantee it will make you laugh and make you almost cry at the end. _


	16. The Last Wish Granted

**Chapter Sixteen**

**(1****st**** Version)**

**The Last Granted Wish **

Jack Bolton dove cleanly into the water and kicked himself up to surface for a moment. He took a huge breath of air then dived back again. This time he went further down away from the surface. However, even with goggles on and clear sunlight streaming through the water, there was a point that he could no longer see anything. Still he kept on diving, further and further still. When his vision no longer permitted it, he let his hands and feet as his guide through the dark waters. He felt a movement in his hand but he knew it was just a fish so he waved it away and kept his descent, feeling desperately for a rock, sand or anything solid that would indicate he was at the lake bed.

But finally, his lungs would no longer permit him to go further and he desperately kicked his way up until he reached the surface. There he gasped mouthfuls of the crisp morning air all the while trying to still the ache of disappointment in his heart.

When he finally had enough of air he took another breath and dived down again, only to surface when his breath could no longer sustain him. Yet he did it again, and again, and again. Each time he moved to different parts of the lake, each time he challenged himself to go further.

Finally he was too tired to go down. He hoisted himself on a mossy rock and took a rest as he let his frustration settle.

He didn't know why he kept doing this. It's been a year since his son and his classmate disappeared mysteriously in this island.

Sharpay was discovered missing the morning after her fight with Gabriella. No one even noticed her leave her room and everyone figured that she must have snuck out during the afternoon storm. All boats were accounted for so the idea of her stealing on a boat away from the island was easily ruled out. Every inch of land within the island was thoroughly searched and yielded nothing. Months of searching funded by the Evans' fortune of the entire island and even the surrounding coasts and islands yielded no clue on either Sharpay or Troy. It was like they disappeared from the face of the earth.

No one seemed able to explain what happened to them. And as strange was their disappearance, another peculiar event happened in the mainland hospital the same day. The night Sharpay was supposed to have run off, the doctor attending Sharpay's sick nanny reported that the old woman woke up from her coma and demanded to be brought to the lake. The doctor refused and kept her in the hospital for the rest of the night for observation. To the nurses' surprise the following morning, they found the old woman gone and there was a dead fish in her bed. The hospital staff were puzzled as to how a feeble old woman who was just out of a coma could even get out of bed, much less escape from the hospital undetected. And like Sharpay and Troy, she too disappeared without a trace.

The search parties for Troy and Sharpay stopped after three months. They concluded that they must have either drowned in the sea or in the lake where their bodies could no longer be found. Six months after that, the Evans family and even Jack's wife accepted their children's death with a simple ceremony in the island.



Jack however, refused to accept it. He didn't attend the ceremony and he refused to have a memorial marker for Troy the same way that Mr. and Mrs. Evans erected for Sharpay on the island beach. Once a month, he would fly to the island for a weekend and continue to search for any sign of his son. Mr. and Mrs. Evans always funded and made arrangements for his trips and left instructions to their staff to let him be a guest there at all times as a way of consolation for the lost of his son.

Now it was summer again and Jack had been spending the whole of the first month since the end of classes in the island. He already made searches of the beach, the plantation and the woods. However, he focused mostly on the lake. He knew the lake had been searched countless times before. Yet, not even all the Evans' fortune was enough to search every inch of it. The lake couldn't possibly be drained to uncover all of its secrets. That was Jack's hope that somehow, he would find something here—some clue as to what really happened to Troy and Sharpay.

Another reason why he always went back here was something Ryan told him. Ryan said Sharpay had a secret cave in the lake—one that she took Troy to see the day before he disappeared. Mr. Evans had searched for it for the longest time and so did Jack, but no one was able to find it. Something told Jack that if he could only find that cave, he could find some closure on Troy.

Jack now heaved a great sigh. "Where are you Troy?" he asked in the air and prayed for an answer. He could feel his throat constrict with tears. "Where's that cave? I just want to know what happened to you," he said desperately.

There was no answer but the chirping of the crickets. Jack got down from the rock on the intention of diving again, when he suddenly felt something tickle his chest. He moved away but was met with another movement and another. He suddenly realized what it was: fish. Dozens and dozens of fish in colorful blues, pinks, silvers and gold clustered around him and were brushing their tails against him.

Jack was rather used to them by now. Unlike other fish he encountered, the fish here in the lake appeared to be quite used to humans. They don't swim away and instead clustered near him. He thought that rather odd at first, but eventually he just thought they were like dolphins who were attracted to humans. He used to shoo them away but today, he was just too depressed and the feeling of those little fish around him seemed to comfort him somehow. It was like he was surrounded by a crowd of playful little children.

Suddenly Jack let out a little laugh as one fish managed to find his tickle spot just below the navel. He looked down and saw the culprit was a pink and silver fish with a single black streak. It appeared to be bigger than the others and Jack could assess from its large belly that it was pregnant. Jack couldn't help but smile at it.

"Hey Mama," he said to the fish. "I hope you never have to lose any of your children."

The fish responded with another brush on his tickle spot which made him laugh even louder. Suddenly, the other smaller fish seemed to take a cue from her and began brushing him or blowing jets of water on the same spot. He was overcome with laughter but they continued to attack him like crazy. Finally he had to brush them away with his hands, but he did it ever so gently because he didn't want to hurt any of them. They swam back a distance away but didn't leave him completely.

Suddenly he noticed that some of the fish parted as a large fish approached him. It was slightly bigger than the pink pregnant fish. The features indicated that it was the same species as the rest but this one was blue with silver streaks. A memory struck Jack. He remembered this fish. It looked exactly like the fish Sharpay had in her bathtub while they were questioning her where Troy was. The one Sharpay insisted was Troy.

_But that's impossible,_ he thought. _That fish is dead. We ate it._ _Gabriella had it cooked and served to us._

He recalled Sharpay's words to him like they were yesterday—how she insisted Troy was the fish in her tub. Everyone kept saying she was just insane, but Jack had a feeling he wanted to believe her even though what she was saying was illogical. _How else could she have known all those things about me?_

He stared at the blue fish that kept looking back at him. He held out a hand in the water and to his surprise the fish didn't hesitate to swim towards it and brush against his skin. He slowly cupped his two hands to hold the fish in and it didn't even fight back but remained in his hands like a docile child. Jack stared at it in fascination as his heart hammered with the realization.

"Troy, is this really you?"

The fish merely responded by rubbing its body against his skin. Despite the cold scaly feel of the fish, Jack could feel the desperation of the creature in his hands. He felt tears run down his cheeks. He knew it was ridiculous. His son couldn't possibly be a fish, yet he wanted to believe anything, anything other than the fact that his son was dead. So despite logic telling him otherwise he questioned the fish:

"Troy, if it's really you, please, tell me what happened? Tell me what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"

But the fish remained silent and merely kept rubbing against him. Finally, it swam away from his hand to join the pregnant pink fish. Jack stared at the latter as another odd realization hit him. "Is this Sharpay?"

Suddenly both fish used their tales to flick water at him before swimming away at a little distance. They paused and flicked water again.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Jack asked. The fish responded by swimming away again before pausing at a little distance to send another splash of water. Jack somehow understood. "You want me to follow you?" He swam towards their direction and the smaller fish followed after him. The two bigger fishes kept pausing every now and then to splash and indicate to him where to go. Jack kept following across the lake until they led him to a cluster of interesting rock formations at one end of the lake. Ryan had mentioned that Sharpay's cave was here somewhere and he had searched this area several times though he had yet to find it. His heart hammered at the idea that he might be able to find it now.

The fish paused here and dived down. Jack didn't need further instruction, he followed the fish and it only took moments before the familiar darkness of this area of the lake enveloped him completely. But then he felt one of the fish's fins against his hand and he followed it even deeper. He felt several other fish on his sides and he knew that they were all leading him to the right direction.

He blindly felt rough rocks with his hands and it felt like a dead end but the fish kept pushing him forward. Finally, he felt his air running out and he knew he had to go back up, but all the little fish seemed to cluster around him and kept pushing him on while the older fish urged him with brushes to push forward directly on the solid rock.

For a moment he was suddenly frightened. Was he going crazy that he thought these fish were really his son and his lost classmate? Was he just hallucinating and was now committing suicide? For a moment his logic was coming back in full force and he was about to turn back when he felt something hollow in front of him. He felt a gap between the rocks. He swam on and felt the fish crowding around him push forward. He didn't resist and in a split second he went through between the rocks. With the last ounce of breath he kicked up and his head broke through the surface of the water.

For a moment he allowed himself to breathe heavily. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he stared at his surroundings. He was in a cave. It was small but dimly lit with sunlight penetrating through cracks in its roof. He glanced around until his eyes rested on a stone floor to his right where he saw something unusual. He swam towards it and hoisted himself up to the rock to pick up the article there and examine it in the light.

It was an emergency lamp. It was mostly rusted but it was definitely a lamp similar to the ones he saw at the Evans' house. And when he turned to look around the area, he saw that there were two other smaller flashlights there—equally rusted and weathered with age. There was also a pail with a lid cover, some pieces of Tupperware, all dirty but still intact.

_Someone was here, possibly a year ago. Could it be Sharpay? _

And then he saw something floating at the edge of the rock bed. He picked it up and realized it was a piece of fabric that was once pink. There was another fabric here that was once white. As he held it up he identified them as a pair of once pink pajamas and the matching white top. Jack clutched both fabrics to his chest before he buried his face in them. He remembered these clothes. They were the ones Sharpay was wearing before she disappeared.

He didn't have to look around. He didn't even want to bother if there was a body. He knew there wouldn't be one. It was the same way how they found Troy's clothes on the beach. He understood now. Sharpay was telling the truth then. Troy did turn into a fish and now Sharpay was one too.

Jack felt water splash his arm and he turned to the water. It took him a moment to discern the figures in the water but he finally recognized the blue and pink fishes swimming just above the surface. He held his hand out to them and the blue fish swam to his palm.

"Troy…" he sobbed. "My son… my poor son…"

There was no response, only the cold feel of the fish's body on his skin. Jack felt the silence overwhelm him and his heart was struck with grief at the realization that his son was alive but could never communicate with him. It was worse than imagining his son was dead.

"Oh Troy…" he cried desperately. "I wish I could talk to you again!"

He felt the fish suddenly stiffen in his hand and then slowly he could discern voices—tiny voices that were growing louder and louder by the minute.

"_What's happening, Daddy?"_

"_Yeah, what's going on?"_

"_Quiet! Let Daddy be, he needs to talk to Grandpa."_

"_But he can't understand us."_

"_He looks so sad!"_

"_Why is he sad?"_

For a long time he thought maybe he was imagining it all, but suddenly he realized that there were really voices all around him. Voices like that of little children, talking excitedly among themselves. He glanced around and slowly realized that it was the fish talking. He could hear them and understand them as if they were speaking plain English.

"_Children quiet!"_ cried a familiar female voice. And suddenly the childish murmurings obeyed and the same female voice continued: _"Troy, Troy, something's wrong!" _

"_I know, it feels, different. Did you feel it too? Like some kind of energy."_

Jack recognized the other voice immediately. He knew it anywhere, it was Troy's. And it was coming from the blue fish.

"_Oh my God! Troy, he made a wish! I just know it!" _Jack was sure that was Sharpay's voice and he didn't have to see that it came from the pink pregnant fish. _"We should never have done this! We should have never led him here!"_

"_I had to!" _cried Troy. _"I couldn't stand watching him like this. I'm sorry! I thought maybe if he found your clothes and those lamps he would have some closure…"_

"_Troy?"_ Jack finally managed to mutter.

Troy's head rotated towards him. _"Dad? Can you hear me?"_

"_Yes, is that… is that really you?"_ He knew of course that he was, but Jack just had to ask.

"_Yes! Oh Dad, what did you wish for?"_ Jack noted the panic in his son's voice.

"_Wish for? What do you mean?"_

"_Coach Bolton," _it was Sharpay who answered. _"You made a wish just now. That's why you can talk to us. What was it?"_

Jack racked his head for a moment before he remembered. _"I think I wished that I could talk to you again."_

There was a sigh of relief from Sharpay but Troy still looked worried. _"It could have been worse. Maybe it's just like my ability to talk to fish. How bad could it be?"_

"_Heaven knows,"_ Troy replied. _"It's still best to prepare him for the worst."_

"_Prepare me for… Troy, what's… what's going on… what happened to you?"_

"_I think we should start at the beginning, Coach Bolton," _Sharpay said. _"Troy?"_

"_Yes. Dad, we have a lot to talk about, but before that, I just want to know I love you and I missed you." _He swam towards his father again and Jack met his head with his index finger. _"I miss mom too."_

"_She misses you as well, son. But tell me everything. Tell me what happened."_

And so they did. Jack listened as they told the whole story, from Sharpay's sister who found the cave, how she was cursed, how her wish turned Troy into a fish last year, about Mama Liat's story and until how Troy wished to be with her. It was a long and emotional tale that Jack couldn't help but cry halfway through. And every time he did, a little fish that had equal parts of blue and pink in its scales would jump up from the water and brush its tail to his chest in a gesture of comfort.

When they finished their tale, Jack told them how horrible his last year was since they disappeared. And when he was finished, he knew even if he could see no tears that Sharpay and Troy were crying as well.

"_So Mama Liat's dead,"_ sobbed Sharpay when Jack mentioned how she disappeared.

"_It's possible she's alive, she just disappeared,"_ Jack said.

But Sharpay shook her head. _"No, she's dead. That's the only explanation. She turned back into a fish. That's the fish that they found in her bed." _She sobbed harder that came out in guttural sounds that was heartbreaking.

Jack watched as Troy brushed his tail against her in a rather affectionate matter. At the same time, the little fishes around them began to whisper in little childish voices.

"_Don't cry!"_

"_We love you!"_

"_What's going on?"_

"_Who's Mama Liat?" _

Jack noticed the particular fish that kept brushing against him swam next to Sharpay and rubbed its snout on her tail. Sharpay brushed back and whispered something back to it that Jack couldn't discern. He felt it rather touching that they had friends here at least.

"_So my parents accepted I'm dead,"_ Sharpay finally said rather calmly though her voice still cracked.

"_So has my Mom,"_ added Troy sadly.

"_I never believed you were dead. I just couldn't,"_ said Jack. _"That's why I keep coming back. I couldn't let go."_

"_I know Dad,"_ said Troy. _"I watched you, and sometimes Sharpay, the kids and I would try to come near you."_

"_Kids?"_ Jack puzzled until he remembered the little fish that were still clustered around them listening to them talk. At the same time he remembered Sharpay's full belly. He suddenly realized what it all meant.

"_Sharpay and I have several kids now,"_ Troy said rather shyly.

Jack noticed that his son's colors were lightening and so were Sharpay's. Jack couldn't help but feel that if they were human they were blushing together like a pair of teenagers that he just caught living together. And if he thought about it, they were doing exactly that, and with children too—Oh boy, was he was getting a headache!

"_Er… how many…?" _Jack asked rather awkwardly.

"_Uhhmmm… 64 Dad,_" Troy replied. _"And uhhmmm… we'll probably get about a few dozen more in a few weeks."_

Jack could only open his mouth as he began to stare at the little fish around him. He always wanted to have lots of grandkids. But never in his wildest dreams that he imagined he would get sixty four! And still counting! Plus they were all fish! His headache just doubled.

"_Er… Coach Bolton…" _Sharpay began and Jack stared at her with her belly full as she sided next to Troy. Despite being a fish Jack couldn't help but see how much affection she had for him. Troy too seemed happy with her, if the way his colors lit up were any indication. _"It's not really as bad as it is. I mean, Troy and I are… you see Coach—" _

"_Call me Dad,"_ Jack cut in.

"_Sir?"_ Sharpay's voice trembled.

"_Sharpay, just call me Dad. Look, this is all quite a shock to me. But I think having this many kids with Troy merits that you're his wife. You're family." _He held out a hand to her and she slowly made her way to rub on his palm.

"_Thanks Dad,"_ said Troy.

"_And these are your children?"_ he asked as he held his hands out in the water.

"_Yes, the whole lot of them," _said Troy rather proudly. _"Go on kids. Say hello to your grandpa."_

There was a chorus of "Hello grandpa" all around as they swarmed around in his hands and began tickling Jack again. Jack felt it was all so surreal, but the feel of those little fish was just amazing.

"Let me introduce you one by one," said Troy. He motioned to the blue and pink fish that kept brushing against him. "This is Ja—"

"_TROY! SHARPAY!"_

Jack was startled and apparently so did all the little fish. The shout came from somewhere below and moments later a large grey fish appeared.

"_Nahoa, what is it?"_ asked Sharpay with worried concern. _"Dad, this is Nahoa, a friend of ours."_

The fish stared at him. _"He can understand us. He made a wish?" _she asked with evident terror in her voice.

"_Yes, we couldn't help it."_ Troy said apologetically. _"This is my father. He can talk to us now. I just couldn't stand to see him… I mean you've seen how broken he is, he keeps coming back and I—"_

"_It doesn't matter!"_ the other fished named Nahoa dismissed. _"Look, we'll worry about that later. Right now you have to get him out of here. The same goes for the rest of your family."_

"_Why?"_ asked Troy fearfully.

"_I can't explain," _said Nahoa. _"I just know it. Something's going to happen. Something bad. It's not just me who's feeling it. All my brothers and sisters do too and it's telling us to stay away from this cave tonight."_

Jack could only stare at the fish, confused. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't dare interrupt either.

_Alright, let's get out,_" said Troy. _"We'll continue this discussion outside."_

"_No, send him away Troy,"_ warned Nahoa. _"Out of the lake as soon as possible! I can't explain why but he's in danger here as a human."_

Troy turned to Sharpay then back to Jack. _"Alright, Dad, you have to go. Kids, everyone out of the cave quickly!"_

The little fish needed no further command they began disappearing in the water.

"_Come on Dad, I'll lead you out,"_ said Troy when the last of his children were gone and only he, Sharpay and Nahoa were left.

Jack merely nodded. He grabbed Sharpay's clothes, the rusted lamps and dived down. He followed Troy's voice underwater back through the tricky cave entrance and was soon outside in the sunlight. He 

assessed from the position of the sun that it was probably around very late in the afternoon by now and the light was beginning to fade to dusk. He didn't realized how much time had passed while talking to Troy and Sharpay in the cave.

"_What's going on Troy?"_ Jack finally managed to ask.

"_I don't know but it's best that we just do what Nahoa says. The fish are sensitive like that to Fufu and we don't really know what consequences your wish will have on you. You have to go now Dad, at least let the night pass over. Stay at the house. You can come back tomorrow."_

Jack didn't want to leave, if there was some danger, he wanted to be close to Troy and his family. But he just didn't know what to do so he decided not to argue. _"Alright, I promise to come back first thing tomorrow. I'll bring parents your Sharpay, Ryan too if he's here by tomorrow."_

Sharpay looked up at him. _"I don't think that's a good idea."_

"_But they're you're parents,"_ Jack reasoned. _"They have to know. And if they know and one of them could get into the cave maybe they could wish you back and—" _

"_No!"_ Sharpay cried violently. _"Don't tell them please! Not the cave. No more wishes!"_

"_But they can get you back!"_ argued Jack. _"I mean if one of them wishes…"_

"_No Dad,"_ said Troy firmly. _"You don't understand. You can't take them to the cave. I already made a mistake by bringing you there. You shouldn't have made that wish. That's exactly what we've been trying to avoid. If anyone makes another wish, we would condemn another person to a curse. I already condemned you. I don't want anyone else to suffer like this."_

"_But I'm not suffering!"_ Jack interjected impulsively before adding as an afterthought: _"Except that I can't get you back because I only get one wish."_

"_Well maybe that is the curse,"_ said Sharpay sadly. _"That you could talk to us but we could never be part of your world again. And maybe… most likely no one will believe you, Dad. Just like me when I was given that ability. No one believed me. That's why I don't think you should tell anyone. They'll think you're crazy, just like everyone thought I was crazy."_

Jack considered it but he didn't really see Sharpay's reason. _"Well it doesn't have to be this way. Your mother will believe me, Troy. I'm sure she'll be willing to wish you back even if there's a curse..."_

But Troy and Sharpay remained silent and slowly Jack was realizing an awful truth. _"Y-you don't want to go back, do you?"_ he said softly.

"_No Dad,"_ said Troy. _"I'm sorry. I've chosen this, to be with Sharpay here and our children for the rest of our lives. I love her Dad and I love each one of my kids and all the ones I will ever have and I'm not leaving this."_

"_B-but, what about home? College? Your basketball career? Your friends?"_ Jack gasped.

Troy gave a sigh. _"I know it might be difficult for you to understand but I'm happy here. I found a life here and I don't regret it anymore." _He paused to swim closer to Sharpay. _"I thought it was curse at first, but now I came to realize, this life is much a blessing as it is a curse. I'm sorry Dad, I'm not going back."_

A knife twisted in Jack's heart and he knew that Troy meant what he said. He finally grasped the full meaning of the curse and it hurt unbearably.

"_Alright. I'll still bring your mother—if she'll believe me. The same with your parents, Sharpay. I won't tell them about the cave if you want but I'll tell them about you living here in the lake. I still have to try somehow,"_ he said finally. He just couldn't find anything to say. He had to get away and think—think of a way out of this.

"_Thank you Dad,"_ Troy replied as Sharpay muttered her own thanks. _"Now you really have to go. It will be dark soon."_

Jack nodded. _"Take care, I promise I'll be back tomorrow." _He allowed himself to be tickled one last time by his grandchildren. He was getting particularly fond of one of them—the little blue and pink fish that always hit his tickle spot and kept jumping up out of the water as if trying to show off to him. Jack patted its tale gently with his index finger before hoisting himself out of the water along with Sharpay's old clothes and the rusted lamps he carried back from the cave.

Once he began climbing the mountain side, he forced himself not to look back. If he did, he might run back into the lake and never leave. The hike back down the mountain seemed to take forever for he was weighed with heavy thoughts.

There had to be someway to get them back somehow. Maybe he could still change Troy's and Sharpay's mind. Perhaps someone could wish for them to all become human—all sixty-four children included. He thought that would be quite problematic of course since Troy and Sharpay would have to raise so many, but all that mattered was Jack will have his son back. But the first thing he had to do was to get Sharpay's family to believe him. Hopefully the lamps and Sharpay's discarded clothes could help him there.

When he got to the house, the usual servants greeted him and told him that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were waiting to join him at the dinning room. He found them in their usual seats.

"Jack, so glad you could join us, please have a seat," Derby Evans gushed in her usual cheery self. In the last few months, Sharpay's mother seemed to have recovered from her daughter's disappearance and was almost the same perky woman he met two years ago at Lava Springs. Vance Evans in contrast, just gave him a polite acknowledging nod. Jack noticed that unlike his wife, Vance no longer smiled so often. If he ever laughed, it was dry and fake—something he just put up to get along with company. Jack could understand him. He knew Sharpay was Vance's favorite child—he saw that even back in Lava Springs. Vance dotted on Sharpay in ways he never showed to Ryan. As a father, Jack understood how broken Vance was when she disappeared.

Now Jack was contemplating how to break the news to them. He decided he ought to be subtle and use the physical evidence first.

"I found them!" he announced as he held up the broken lamps and pieces of fabric.

Vance immediately shot up from his chair and grabbed the items Jack held out. He didn't seem to understand the importance of the lamps but when he held Sharpay's clothes, he recognized them instantly. "Where?"

"In the lake. That's where I found those," he explained. He was careful to leave out the cave. He would reserve telling them about it after he was assured they believed him.

Vance said nothing but held the cotton pajamas to his face to kiss it, unmindful of its grimy state. Derby made an attempt to grab at the precious cloth as well but Vance wouldn't part with it. She settled for examining the broken flashlights as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Take me there, Jack," Mr. Evans said with astonishing calm. "We have their bodies now, at least. We can give them a proper burial. I'll take care of everything, even Troy's."

Jack heaved a sigh. This was the time to say it. "They're not dead, Vance."

"My baby's alive?" Mrs. Evans cried. "Where?"

"In the lake. Look, I know this is going to sound really weird but…" He paused to search for a way to make this believable. "Remember when Sharpay kept telling us Troy was turned into a fish that's why he disappeared."

"Jack, she was having delusions," Derby said.

Jack shook his head. "No, she wasn't. And she wasn't lying either. She was telling the truth. She's in the lake now, with Troy… and they're both fish."

Vance and Derby just stared at him for a long agonizing moment. And then suddenly Derby's expression became angry.

"Jack, I don't really appreciate that joke!"

"Derby!" Vance warned.

"Look, Sharpay's been dead a year and so has Troy! I've lost my child and I've moved on, but to insinuate something like that is just bad taste!"

"Derby, don't!" Vance admonished.

"Well I wish he would just accept it!" she retorted back. "Troy's dead Jack, I'm sorry about that but so is Sharpay. I understand your loss but you're not the only one who lost a child. You have to move on!"

"They're not dead!" Jack contested hotly and suddenly he didn't really care about being careful anymore about the cave. "I'm telling you now, I found them! They led me to Sharpay's cave. The wishing shrine legend is true. The cave is the wishing shrine and it grants one person who's been in it one wish. That's 

how Troy and Sharpay ended up like fish. I wished I could talk to them so now I can talk to fish. I can talk to them!"

Derby said nothing but she glared at Jack in disbelief. Vance turned to his wife. "Derby, please leave us."

"But Vance—"

"Let me handle this," Vance said calmly.

Derby reluctantly turned away and left the dinning room. When she did, Vance turned back to Jack with a look that looked almost like… pity?

"Jack, I know this is hard for you," Vance began slowly as if choosing his words carefully. "I know how you feel and I understand that. You've been to that lake everyday since the start of the month and you must be tired. I think you should get some rest for tonight."

"Yes…" Jack said, confused. He really didn't know where this conversation was going. "But you believe me, right? You'll come with me to the lake tomorrow to see Sharpay and Troy?"

"Yes, yes, I'll come, of course. But after that, I think you need to talk this out with someone. Look, I'll set up an appointment for you to see this wonderful doctor..."

Jack stepped back. _Doctor?_ It suddenly clicked on his head what that meant.

"Vance, I am not going crazy!"

"I'm not saying you are," Vance replied calmly. "But I think you've been through a lot and I know this has affected you emotionally. I think you should talk to someone at least, get things off your chest."

Jack took a step further away. It was happening just as Sharpay said. They didn't believe him and most likely if he insisted he would end up just like her. He had seen how the Evans family dealt with their daughter and he knew it would do him no good to push for the truth now. Maybe tomorrow when he took Mr. Evans to the lake, he could devise ways to convince him with Troy's and Sharpay's help.

"You're right, maybe I just need rest for tonight," he said. "But you'll come with me to the lake first thing tomorrow morning? I'll show you where I found her clothes?"

Vance looked relieved. "Yes, yes of course. And I'm grateful you found them. Why don't you have a seat and have some dinner. Did you take lunch? The staff tells me you missed it."

"Yes, I missed it. I was in the lake the whole day." He suddenly remembered how hungry he was but he didn't feel like having dinner with Vance right now when the man obviously suspected he was going nuts. "I think I'm a bit tired though. I'll go up to bed. Could you just order a food tray brought up to my room?"

Vance looked like he was more than relieved for that arrangement. "Of course, Jack. I'll ask the maid to send it up. Go get some rest and thank you again."

Jack took his leave and went up to his familiar room. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had already made this room his every time he came here. He was told it was the room Troy stayed in before he disappeared and Jack was comforted with the idea that he slept in the same bed that Troy did. It was a cozy bedroom with a window that had a good view of the mountain slope. He could see it clearly now for there was a full moon out.

He had dinner in silence while pondering over how he would go about convincing Sharpay's parents. He sat for hours staring at the mountain, thinking about everything that happened. When he grew tired he lay down on bed and closed his eyes…

_The little blue and pink fish_ _came swimming out of nowhere. Before he could even greet it, it jumped up the air to flick his chest with its colorful little tail. _

"_What's it like to be human?" _it asked in its childish little voice. _"Is it really that bad that you cry so much?"_

"_No, no of course not," _he replied. _"Humans cry all the time for various reasons but mostly because we are sad."_

"_Why are you sad?" _

"_Because I've lost my son and I can't get him back."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because he chose to be a fish and he doesn't want to go back."_

"_Can't you get another son?" _it asked again rather matter-of-factly.

"_No, I can't. He's the only one."_

"_But if you can have your son back will you be happy again?"_

"_Yes, but I can't have him back when he doesn't want to."_

"_I don't want you sad,"_ it said. _"I wish…"_

Jack jolted awake. He saw immediately that it was close to dawn outside, but that wasn't what got him awake. It was the shaking. Everything was shaking!

He noticed the food tray on his bedside table move towards the edge and in the next instant it fell to the floor sending the empty porcelain plate and the glass shattering into pieces. The noise got him completely up and he got out of bed and rushed out of the room. He scrambled down the stairs as fast as he could and met various servants along the way also rushing out. On the second floor landing he caught up with Vance and Derby who were also both in night clothes.

"Everyone out now!" Vance was shouting as the rest of the servants all scrambled towards the doors. Jack followed after them until they got out of the house. Once outside, Jack turned to the mountain fearfully and saw that one side of the slope began to slide with bits of rock rushing down its slope.

He was too busy watching in terror at the mountain that he didn't realize when the trembling of the ground stopped. It took him a moment to gain his senses and when he did, he began to be aware of his surroundings again. There were servants crowded all around the yard and Vance and Derby were shouting out orders to check if there was any damage or injuries that happened from the earthquake.

"Everyone stay together in the yard. No one goes back into house in case of aftershocks. And stay away from the beach in case we get a tidal wave!" Vance was shouting.

Jack however, tuned out the rest of what Vance said. He stared at the mountain and suddenly remembered Troy and Sharpay. What if something bad happened to them in the lake! What if someone there was hurt?

Without further thought, he ran towards the direction of the mountain.

"Jack? Where are you going?" he head Derby's voice behind but he didn't look back. He kept running even when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Jack, everyone is to stay in the yard!" Vance shouted behind him. But Jack ignored him as well and continued on the trail that led to the entrance of the mountain.

"Jack wait! Don't go there, it might be dangerous. There could be aftershocks!"

But Jack didn't pay attention. He climbed up the familiar mountain trail as fast as he could. He could hear shouts and footsteps behind him and knew that Vance was right behind him. But he didn't look back or pause. He just kept on.

He reached the lake in minutes and to his horror he saw some of the rocks at the end of edge of the lake where the cave was, had fallen.

"_Troy! Troy! Sharpay! Are you alright?" _he shouted desperately.

For a moment there was a silence and then he heard tiny voices of the little fish. There was so much talk going on he couldn't discern any of it.

"_Has anyone seen Troy or Sharpay?"_ he asked a group of grey fish near the edge of the lake. They didn't respond and seemed to be puzzled as to where his voice was coming from. He tried a different group of grey fish but they all seemed to either ignore him or were unaware that it was him talking. Most just swam away at this approach. But finally he heard a tiny voice shriek:

"_He's here Daddy. Grandpa's back!"_

Jack hurriedly headed towards the direction of the voice. He took off his shoes and jumped into the water. _"Where are you? Is everyone alright? Troy? Sharpay?"_

"_We're fine Dad," _he heard Troy's voice faintly. He strained his eyes on the water and noticed his son and daughter-in-law clustered around a group of colorful fish. They appeared to be doing a head count of their children.

"_Is everyone safe?" _asked Jack. _"There was an earthquake."_

"_I know Dad. The cave got destroyed. We can't even go there now."_

Jack's heart sank. If the cave was destroyed, then there was no way to get Troy and Sharpay back! The thing he never expected happened! What was he to do now?

Jack turned to his son but Troy was quite busy calling out to his children.

"_Chad and Jason?"_ Troy called out.

"_Here Daddy!"_

"_Here Daddy!"_

"_Sharpettes 1, 2 and 3?" _Troy asked.

There was a trio chorus of _"Here Daddy!"_

"_Michael Jordan?"_

"_Ditto! Dad!"_

On the other side of the crowd, Sharpay was doing her own headcount.

"_Sondheim?"_

"_Here Mommy!"_

"_Dennis Rodman?"_

"_I'm here with Gershwin and Porter,"_ came the whinny answer from the back. _"Mom! They're ganging up on me again!"_

"_Cut it out you two! Leave your brother alone!"_ Sharpay shouted impatiently then went on to look for Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Despite his desperation, Jack had to laugh at the names. Only Sharpay and Troy could have named their children after basketball players and Broadway composers.

Sharpay and Troy met up and seemed to be comparing notes.

"_Okay so that's sixty-three in all," _Troy concluded but he paused. _"Where's James Junior?"_

Jack was touched that Troy named one of his children after him and would have told him that but at the moment Troy and Sharpay looked panicked.

"_Did anyone see James?" _asked Sharpay.

There was a chorus of mumbles but all in the negative.

"_Oh my god, JAMES!" _Sharpay shouted.

"_Alright, everyone split up and find little James!" _Troy ordered.

The fish began moving when there was a tiny shout.

"_Mommy! Daddy!"_

Jack saw it was the little blue and pink fish that used to rub against him the night before. Troy and Sharpay took off swimming towards it and Jack followed. When he was near enough he saw that the little fish appeared to be gasping for breath.

"_What happened baby?" _Sharpay cried frantically.

"_I feel funny…" gasped the fish._

"_Are you hurt?" _Troy asked. _"Where? Were you near those rocks when it caved in?"_

The little fish seemed to make a slight nod before whispering. _"I-I'm sorry Mommy." _

"_It's okay baby. Where are you hurt?"_ comforted Sharpay.

But the little fish shook its head. _"No… not hurt… I… I-I made a wish… in the cave…"_

"_No!" _cried Sharpay and her panic was echoed by her little children.

"_Quiet kids!" _Troy shouted in an authoritative voice that effectively silenced them all. He turned to his son. _"What did you wish for James?"_

"_Grandpa looked so sad… and I didn't want him cursed no more… I didn't want anyone cursed coz everyone says there's always a curse…"_

"_James, what did you…?"_ Sharpay begged.

"_I wished grandpa wouldn't be sad anymore coz there would be no more curses."_

There were gasps from the little fish but Troy and Sharpay appeared to be speechless. Jack wondered what that meant when suddenly the little fish screamed. And in the next instant Sharpay was screaming beside him.

"_Oh my Baby! No! Please!"_

"_What's going on?"_ Jack shouted but it was drowned out by Sharpay's own screams and those of her children. Jack kept watching and he saw the water rippling with waves coming from the little fish. It took him a minute to realize it was growing.

"Jack! Come back now! It's dangerous here!" Jack heard Vance shout behind him but he didn't turn. He was watching in terror as the fish's color was disappearing and fading to flesh—human flesh.

There was a splash behind him and in a moment Jack felt Vance's arm on his shoulder.

"Come on Jack, let's get out of here before another aftershock comes, it might trigger a landslide."

But Jack didn't budge he kept staring at the water.

"What is that?" Vance asked as he noticed too the movement in the water.

Suddenly something came up to the surface and it began gasping for breath. Jack stared at it in fascination. It was a boy, a small blonde boy of around five years old and it was now treading the water.

"What the—what is a child doing here?" Vance asked.

Jack didn't answer he was busy listening to Sharpay's sobs.

"_Oh my baby!"_ she cried. _"Oh my poor baby!"_

"_James, can you still hear me?"_ Troy asked.

The boy was busy staring at his new hands and feeling his chest and hair.

"_James? Can you hear me?"_ Troy repeated.

The boy stopped looking at his body and turned to the water.

"_I'm sorry Mommy, Daddy. But he looked so sad and you said it was because he was alone. I didn't want him to be alone."_

Jack saw Troy move beside Sharpay to comfort her. She was still sobbing quietly. _"It's okay James,"_ Troy said calmly to his child. _"Go with Grandpa."_ He turned to look at Jack._ "Dad… please?"_

Jack understood. He took the boy in his arms and he didn't resist. It felt good to be near him. It comforted Jack somehow. It was like the first time he held Troy in his arms when he was born.

"Jack what is this child?" Vance asked.

"_I'll be back here with James, I promise,"_ Jack whispered to Troy and Sharpay.

"_Thank you Dad,"_ Troy replied. _"Be a good boy, James. I love you."_

"_I love you too," _James replied. _"I'm sorry, Mommy."_

"_It's okay baby,"_ Sharpay said. _"Just be good for both your Grandpas. That's my Dad, the other human."_

"_Okay Mommy."_

"_Dad, you should go now. It's not safe here yet for you," _Troy warned. _"There might be a landslide if there's another aftershock."_

Jack nodded and turned to the man who was looking at him with a slightly panicked expression.

"Jack? What is going on?" Vance repeated and Jack remembered he was there. "Who is this boy?"

Jack merely turned the boy so he was facing Vance. Vance's mouth fell open and Jack realized why. The boy looked like a younger version of Troy but his eyes and hair were Sharpay's.

* * *

Vance Evans fidgeted in his chair and stared at his watch. Was it less than five minutes that just passed by—it seemed like more. He wasn't used to this. He hated waiting. He was the kind of man who had enough wealth and power at his control so as to enable him to eliminate all incidents that forced him to wait. But this time, his privilege hadn't stopped him from experiencing the dreaded waiting. He just had to endure it.

Well if he thought about it, he really didn't have to wait. He could choose to walk away right now. In fact that was the logical thing to do. Every fiber of reason in his body was telling him to leave now and forget this other man's notions as nothing more than madness. Even his wife said so this morning and Derby was usually right about these things. Yet something kept Vance from leaving and he wasn't exactly sure what.

Vance glanced at the man sitting on the couch across from him. Jack didn't seem to mind the waiting at all. He was currently occupied with playing "touch-the-color" with an energetic little boy. They had managed to go through all the colors in the standard Crayola box and Jack was moving on to more challenging colors.

"Flesh!" the boy giggled as he pointed at Jack's nose.

That giggle made Vance pay attention. It was exactly how little Sharpay used to laugh when she was that age and Vance couldn't help but notice that the boy had the same dimple that his princess had. It was unnerving. The boy's hair was the same shade as Sharpay's and his eyes were like a mirror of Vance's own—something that he passed on to his daughter. Yet, the boy's face was clearly that of Troy Bolton's.

Vance shook his head. Features didn't prove anything. It has to be a coincidence. He kept telling himself that though he couldn't explain how the boy just appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the lake after the earthquake last week.

But what else could he believe? Jack's story was just preposterous. Sharpay and Troy couldn't have possibly turned into fish, much less have this child as their son. Even if there was a possibility that Sharpay was alive and did bear a child within the year she was missing, shouldn't the child be only a few months old? This child was clearly around five years old.

And yet when Jack insisted on getting the boy DNA tested and matched with samples of Sharpay's and Troy's hair, Vance relented. He even offered to pay for it.

He told himself he was doing it so he could end this nonsense of Jack's once and for all. If they could prove with a DNA test that the boy wasn't at all related to their children maybe Jack could move on in his grief and accept that his son was dead instead of fantasizing him as a fish in the lake.

And yet at the back of his mind, Vance was hoping that it wasn't a fantasy at all. He didn't know why. Maybe it was a desperate hope that he wanted to believe that Sharpay's disappearance wasn't a mere tragic unexplainable death.

Or maybe, he—like Jack Bolton—was also going crazy out of grief.

Whatever the reason, it made Vance stay. And this is why Vance was stuck in a clinic waiting room with another desperate father, awaiting the results of a test.

"Okay, James," Jack said playfully. "Touch the color… lavender."

The boy looked around and his eyes immediately rested on Vance's shirt. He quickly ran towards Vance and didn't hesitate to grab the end of his sleeve.

"Excellent, James!" praised Jack.

The boy lit up a smile and Vance could see the dimple again.

_So Sharpay,_ he thought. Vance couldn't help himself. He gently grasped the boy's arms to keep him near while his other hand stroked the side of the boy's cheek to observe that smile. The boy merely looked at him but didn't appear frightened at all. _So confident too with other people, just like her._ For the first time he wanted to hold the boy to find out if he felt the same way in his arms that Sharpay did when she was a child and demanded hugs. And he would have done so had not the door opened and out stepped the specialist he hired.

"Mr. Bolton, Mr. Evans, thank you so much for waiting."

"Did you get the results?" asked Jack eagerly.

"Yes," the specialist answered. "It was a perfect match. James' DNA matches the DNA of the samples you provided us from your children."

Vance's mouth dropped open but he couldn't say a word. He couldn't quite grasp what that meant.

Jack seemed to know what was in his mind and asked for him: "Which means what?"

"They are James' parents," replied the specialist as he held up a piece of paper and handed it to Jack who passed it to Vance. Vance said nothing but he scanned through the paper which turned out to be the report of the DNA test. It was all there, just as the specialist said. James' DNA confirms Sharpay and Troy are his parents.

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked though Vance knew it was for his benefit.

"Yes, it's positive. Unless you gave me contaminated samples, those are quite correct. We tested it in all the samples you gave us, including the ones from your DNA and those of your families. Everything matched like a glove."

Everything matched. Vance knew he couldn't have been wrong. His specialist wouldn't lie. And Vance was the one who searched for hair samples for Sharpay's DNA and handed them to the specialist himself. He even gave samples from his own saliva as well as those of his wife and Ryan.

"He's your grandchild Mr. Evans," continued the specialist as he sided up to him and pointed at the report. "James' maternal line goes through yours, his paternal goes through the Boltons'. And did you say your daughter was type O positive?"

"Y-yes…" Vance nodded. "Same as mine."

"Well, James also has the same blood type."

Vance didn't need that last one for assurance. He was convinced. Jack was right!

And so was Sharpay when all those years he thought she was crazy. He felt enormously guilty as he remembered everything he had put her through for not believing in her.

"There's just one thing puzzling me," said the specialist. "You said your children died last year and your daughter was barely 18 at the time. Well, we know for a fact James couldn't be less than five years old, probably around six even. Did this mean she gave birth to him when she was 12? It's not impossible of course, but I'm just curious."

Vance met Jack's eye and suddenly he felt a silent agreement with this man. It would be a lot harder for both of them if they told anyone else the truth. It was better to keep it in the family.

"Yes, something like that," Vance answered vaguely and thankfully the specialist gave no further questions and took his leave.

And speaking of other truths, Vance now knew that if Jack was right, it meant Sharpay was still alive. But she was a fish in the lake, married to Troy with dozens of other fish offspring!

The idea was just too much for him and suddenly Vance's knees suddenly felt like jelly. He was forced to sit back on the couch.

"Vance, are you alright?" Jack asked.

For a long moment Vance couldn't say a word. But then his gaze fell on little James who was looking up at them with a curious expression. He motioned for the boy to approach and he did. Vance no longer hesitated to pull the boy in his arms and bury his face in the boy's blonde locks. Memories of hugging his little girl flooded his mind. The touch was as familiar as it were yesterday.

"Vance, are you alright?" Jack repeated with worried concern etched on his face.

Vance managed to pull his face away from the boy's hair for moment. "Yeah, I will be. But I think I'll be the one needing therapy after this," he managed to say before hugging his grandson even more tightly to his chest.

* * *

_**A/N: **__I was planning that this would be the end chapter with a bittersweet ending where only Coach Bolton finds out about Troy and Sharpay and believes about them turning into a fish. But then I thought that would be rather unfair to the Evans family, especially Ryan if they never found out what happened to Troy and Sharpay. And so I came up with the concept of one of their children becoming human which will also be the means to end the power of the cave so no more wishes could be made. _

_There will be one more chapter for this version which will be the epilogue._

_Another note: I checked Wikipedia and according to the characters' names, Jack Bolton's name is James. I'm not sure how reliable that article is but I decided to follow it. So little James (Sharpay's and Troy's child) is really named after Jack Bolton. Also, the reason why he appears as a five-year-old when he became human is because I figured fish have a different lifespan than humans. Even though James is only a few months old that's equivalent to five years in human age._


	17. Two Worlds, One Family

**Epilogue**

**Two Worlds, One Family**

**(1****st**** Version)**

_With every ending comes a new beginning_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Trust your heart, let fate decide_

_To guide these lives we see_

_(From Tarzan the Musical)_

"_Go left! Keep going left! The other guard will think you'll go middle and then you torch him!"_

"_By going left?"_

"_Yup, he won't expect it."_

"_Like this?"_

Chad flicked the "ball" and it sailed pass Jason and straight through the ring without even hitting the "net."

"_Sweet!"_ Troy hooped.

"_Yeah! We'll win this one for sure!" _Ryan cried as he gave a "high five" to his sister. Lucy passed it off to Chad who passed it on to the next team member who passed it on and on until the whole team had their share of high fives.

"_Oh yeah! The Boltons rule! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" _came the singsong chorus from behind them. Troy turned around and found his cheer team in the midst of doing an elaborate sequence of flips with occasional daring jumps in the air while chanting out their cheers.

Troy watched them for a moment and was rather surprised when Kelsi finished off the sequence with a triple back flip in the air before executing a perfect landing and a spin. Troy whistled appreciatively and the rest of his team gave their versions of "applause."

Sharpay turned around to face them. _"Pretty good huh?" _

"_Amazing!"_ Troy said as his children crowded around him. He brushed affectionately at an excited little Kelsi. _"That was brilliant baby!" _Troy praised.

"_Thanks, Daddy," _Kelsi said in her squeaky little voice. _"I practiced really hard. Do you think James will like it? Is it as good as his?"_

"_Yes, yes, of course it is. And he'll like to see you do that to when he comes," _replied Troy as he remembered James was the first one who was able to perform an air flip like that. Troy felt a stab at the thought. He missed James.

Troy equally loved all his children—all 127 of them by now—but he always felt something special for James. Among all of his and Sharpay's childen, James was the queerest one. He was the most daring of all their fingerlings. A few minutes after he hatched he was the one that strained away so far from the nest as if he wanted to see the world as quickly as possible. And as he grew up, he didn't seem to know the meaning of danger. He tested both Sharpay's and Troy's patience often as he went on explorations in the most dangerous areas of the lake. And yet even the big lake was not enough for him to explore. He was always interested in stories about his parents' life as humans and expressed his wish to see all those things that his parents told about in the world beyond their home. Troy thought then it was only natural curiosity. But months after James made his wish and left as a human, Troy came to understand that his son had the distinct desire of becoming something more than what he could be as a fish.

In time, Troy and even Sharpay came to accept it and let go of him—just as they let go of the hundreds of children they lost in the past and will eventually lose in the future. Whenever Sharpay lays eggs, she lays them by the hundreds but only a few dozen survive to grow up as fingerlings. Troy died a little every time it happened and he knew Sharpay suffered just as much. But amidst all the pain, the surviving children they had gave him them their greatest source of joy. And if Troy summed it up, it was all worth it. Each child he had that survived made him appreciate his life more and see it as the true blessing that it is.

"_He's coming soon,"_ Sharpay whispered to him. _"Probably today."_

Troy affectionately rubbed his snout on his wife. She always seemed to know what he was thinking. _"How do you know?" _he asked.

"_I figured,"_ she said. _"It feels like summer again. I've been counting days. It's vacation now, I think. Dad won't delay in bringing him here again."_

"_You think he'll make it in time for the basketball tournament?"_ he asked.

"_You know James won't miss it for the world,"_ said Sharpay. _"And the musical too. Our new songs are wonderful. Tiger Woods is turning out to be quite a brilliant composer."_

"_I know,"_ agreed Troy. _"We should have named him Mozart instead."_

Sharpay laughed. It was something of a surprise for them to know that most their kids turned out to be something of the opposite of their namesakes. For instance, Dennis Rodman turned out to be a ninny, all three Sharpettes were the most brilliant in the family, Michael Jordan had one shorter fin than the other and was thus lame, and all of their kids named after composers were tone deaf and preferred warrior training lessons with Kanunu.

"_It's just too bad Ryan, Mom, Dad and your mother can't hear us. I think they would love to hear our new songs," _added Sharpay when she turned serious.

"_I know, it's a shame," _said Troy. _"Well, we'll just have to get James and Dad to translate for your parents and my Mom. But I'm sure they'll appreciate the new cheer dance. You did a wonderful job choreographing."_

"_Thank you, Troy. You know nothing pleases me more than to have my own children learning to perform. You're not so bad yourself coaching fish basketball. You're really whipping them up in shape. Your Dad will be proud."_

Troy gave her an equivalent of a fish smile. Fish basketball was something he invented and introduced in the lake. It was really more like a hybrid of the rules of soccer and basketball. Troy devised a ball out of seaweed and made net goals at an improvised court. He taught his new fish friends in the lake how to do it and the game eventually caught on. Now they hold a tournament every few months with the other fish families forming their own teams. Troy was currently up against Mano's family who won last year. They were currently preparing for a championship rematch.

At the same time, Sharpay was able to establish what she calls "The Lake Fufu Performing Company." It was composed of a choir and a synchronized swimming dance troupe that also doubles as cheerleaders during the basketball games. She credits James for giving her the idea for that one after he started doing acrobatics in the air while he was still a fish.

There was a sudden noise in the distance and Troy was alarmed immediately. He swam nearer to the surface with Sharpay near him. He could hear human voices and he recognized them immediately.

"_They're here! They're here!" _Sharpay gushed. _"I think Ryan's here too, I recognize his voice._

"_Mom! Dad!" _Troy heard James call out followed by Dad's greetings.

"_Here James! Who did you bring along?" _Troy asked.

There was a splash and Troy headed towards the direction of the movement. He saw James' form in the water and was followed by his Dad's. He also recognized his mother, Sharpay's parents and Ryan.

Soon the whole family was rushing in towards the newly arrived humans. Sharpay was the first to brush against James. Their human son appeared to be overjoyed at seeing his new siblings. Troy let James enjoy the moment and turned to receive a gentle touch from his mother. He heard her sniffle with tears again.

"_Dad, tell her I love her," _said Troy.

His father translated and she sniffled louder. Troy was used to it by now. Since two years ago after they proved James was Troy's and Sharpay's son through the DNA test, the whole Bolton and Evans family came regularly to the lake every summer and during holidays when they had time to spend in the island. Troy's mother always cried.

"_She said she loves you back,"_ his Dad told him.

"_I know,"_ said Troy as he gave a brush back at her arm. She responded with a brush and while he savored his touch, he talked to his father. _"How's James doing?"_ he asked.

"_Great, he's starting second grade next fall. I'm already teaching him basketball and he's catching on pretty quick. But his Uncle Ryan's tempting him too much with music and dance. Vance and Derby took him to Broadway to see a play last week and I think he's falling in love with the theatre."_

"_I don't mind,"_ said Troy. _"He's always had a talent for it. He takes after Sharpay, I think."_

"_In some ways, but I see you in him as well. He's a very sensitive boy too."_

"_I know Dad, and I'm proud of him." _He glanced back at James who was now introducing his new siblings to his uncle and grandparents.

"_His adoption papers came through last February,"_ continued Jack. _"He's officially my son now. It took quite a while. Vance kept opposing and wanted to adopt him too, but I refused. I insisted he be a Bolton since that's what he is. We finally agreed to share custody but I get to be the official father."_

"_I'm glad,"_ Troy replied with a bit of twinge in his heart. He knew he could trust his Dad to raise James but he still felt a bit of pain that his favorite child would have to grow up in a different world without him. He quickly turned the bitter subject away. _"Any news of Chad, Jason, Zeke?"_ Troy asked. The last he heard, they still refused to believe that he had turned into a fish.

"_They're all off to college out of state. They came by at the house last spring break to check on me and I told them about you. I don't think they believe me. I introduced James but they're not convinced he's your son. They refused to come to the island too. They said it scares them to come back here since they lost you here. I think they believe I'm going senile. I've given up trying to convince them."_

"_It's okay Dad, you don't have to."_

Troy heard his mother say something to his father and Troy waited patiently for the translation.

"_Your mother told me to tell you that Gabriella came by as well."_

"_Oh,"_ was all Troy could say. He had forgiven his ex-girlfriend a long time ago and he had almost forgotten about her. _"How is she?"_

His father hesitated and his mother said something to him.

"_What is it Dad?" _Troy asked.

"_Well, we thought you ought to know," _his father finally answered_. "Gabriella found out James is your son with Sharpay. She came to us during Christmas break to see James for herself."_

"_Why? How did she find out?"_ asked Troy. It was only out of curiosity. He didn't really care if she found out or not. He wasn't expecting an apology for what she did to him.

"_It turned out her mother works in the same forensics lab where we had James' DNA test run. She accidentally stumbled on James' file and told Gabriella about it. She came to us and demanded to know _

_if you really had a child with Sharpay when you were 12 because that's the excuse we gave to the lab that ran James' test."_

Troy couldn't help but feel sorry for Gabriella. She must be extremely confused. And if she came by to see James for herself, it meant his loss still affected her somehow and she still might have had some feelings for him. He wished he was able to end it with her cleanly, but he didn't think that was possible anymore unless she came to see him in the lake. _"Well did you explain to her that I didn't? Does she believe you now? I mean she's seen James."_

But his father shook his head. _"We tried to convince her, or at least your mother did. I refused to see her. I was still ticked off with her trying to have you cooked and served to me. But that ex of yours is really stubborn. She thought your mother was going crazy too. In the end, your mother just told her to believe what she wants to believe. Gabriella gave back the T necklace you gave her."_ He fished the necklace from his pocket and held it out._ "She was quite upset and she said something about you never trusting her enough to tell her about your past with Sharpay."_

"_But I don't have a past with Sharpay!" said Troy incredulously. "I mean I wish I had. It could have saved her a lot of years of heartache if I appreciated her earlier…" _He shook his head again. _"So Gabriella actually believes I was having it on with Sharpay when I was… 12?"_ He didn't know whether to feel sorry for his former girlfriend or be annoyed that she would rather believe some nonsense about him than see the truth right in front of her. He settled for laughing about it. In a way, it was quite hilarious. _"You know what Dad, just let her be. She can believe whatever she wants. Just keep the necklace or throw it away. It doesn't matter anymore. "_

Troy waited for his father to translate what he said to his mother. When he finished, his Mom tossed him an amused grin and rubbed at his tail that he took as her own way of telling him she was glad he wasn't affected by this.

"Come meet my new kids!" Troy said and he led them to where the Evans family was now clustered with Sharpay and their children. Ryan was in the water and was laughing hysterically as several dozens of his nephews and nieces managed to swarm around him and were now torturing him with tickles.

"_Uncle Ryan says he wants more tickles!" _James shouted to his siblings who immediately obliged him.

"_Actually Ryan is screaming at them to stop,"_ his father said to Troy. _"That son of yours is a real joker. Should I tell your children to stop now?"_

"_Nah!" _said Sharpay who sidled up to Troy and managed to hear what his Dad said. _"I miss doing that to Ryan. And he deserves some payback for having me sedated. I'll let my children take revenge."_

"_Are you still mad at him for that?"_ Troy asked his wife.

"_No, but I miss torturing my brother and I think most of my children enjoy doing it too. James included."_

Troy noted the mischief in his son's face as he continued to egg his siblings on despite what Troy knew was Ryan's protestations for mercy. They watched Ryan suffer a few minutes more before James finally intervened. _"Okay, break it up. Uncle Ryan's had enough!"_

Ryan quickly got out of the water and climbed up a rock as soon as he was free. Sharpay, Troy and Jack had a little laugh at his expense. Troy then introduced his new kids to his parents one by one. When the long introductions were through, Sharpay had their synchronized dance troupe start the entertainment.

Troy watched proudly as his children performed their best for their grandparents, uncle and brother. James was the most enthusiastic audience member but Troy couldn't help but detect the quick expression of sadness in son's eyes when he saw Kelsi do her flip. At that moment, Troy understood James' curse: he could never go back to the way it was or grow up with his siblings. And Troy knew his son would have to live with it.

There would be no more wishes. There was no more turning back for the cave was already destroyed during the earthquake. Mr. Evans made a mad attempt to reconstruct the cave. He had the collapsed rock hauled out and had the stones moved piece by piece in an attempt to bring it back to the way it was. But when he wished, nothing happened. And no amount of wishing inside the cave by him and Mrs. Evans ever worked. In the end they gave up and realized the power of the wishing shrine was gone forever.

Although no one can be sure how it happened, Troy and Sharpay theorized that it was James' last wish that finally ended the power of the shrine, for he did wish that there would be no more curses. The only way that there would be no more curses was when no one could wish anymore. And in a way Troy was glad it ended. He wouldn't have to worry anymore about anyone he loved making a wish going awry.

Troy felt Sharpay swim next to him even before he saw her approach. Through the time he lived with her, he came to know the familiar feeling when she was nearing him. He never grew tired of it.

"_James is happy you know,"_ she said. Troy chalked up her capability to read him as another thing that grew between them.

"_I know,"_ Troy said. _"He's happy in his own way and I think he has been happier now than when he was with us. At least now he has the best of worlds."_

"_Yes and that makes me happy too Troy," _said Sharpay. She paused to stare at him. _"But are you?"_

"_Am I what?"_

"_Happy, Troy?"_ said Sharpay earnestly. _"I know you tell me everyday that you are, but sometimes I wonder if you've regretted that decision of your wish. It was rather one-sided you know. You wished for me to be happy, but you tied yourself to me."_

Troy didn't need to think. He knew the answer just by looking at the still beautiful fish that was his wife and watching his children in the little things they did.

"_Sharpay, haven't you realized by now that my happiness lies with you and our family. I wouldn't want to change that decision for the world. I love you and all 127 of our children."_

Sharpay's face brightened and she giggled. _"Well, you might want to change that number soon."_

Troy stared at her as he realized what that meant. _"Again?"_

Sharpay merely brushed him with her tail. He let himself be intoxicated by her touch.

"_You're right, you don't need to answer that,"_ laughed Troy. He brushed back briefly and felt her shiver.

"_Later fish boy!"_ she whispered before swimming away to focus her attention on her performing children. She turned back to him and this time her tone was no longer sweet. It was rather impatient and bossy. _"Hurry up Troy, they're about to start the musical!"_

Troy just shook his head. Only Sharpay could pull off being loving at one moment and domineering in the next. And yet, he loved even that irritating side of her.

She rotated her head towards him and glared when she saw he hadn't moved an inch. _"Well come on, Troy!" _

Troy moved forward but he kept his pace slow. He watched her swim away with her lovely tail wriggling in an exaggerated manner that he secretly enjoyed checking out every time.

"_As you wish, Your Royal Highness Tiki!" _he whispered to himself before joining the rest of his family.


	18. The Trouble with Being Human

_**A/N: **__Here's the first chapter of the second version of the ending. This takes off after chapter fourteen (Troy's Wish). _

**Chapter Fifteen**

**The Trouble with Being Human **

**(2****nd**** version)**

"_I JUST WISH THERE WAS SOME WAY I COULD MAKE SHARPAY HAPPY!"_

_Sharpay's eyes bulged and he heard the fish around him gasp in unison. It took him a moment to realize that he just uttered a wish._

"_Troy… you didn't!" muttered Sharpay._

_Troy could only stare back at her in utter terror. Did he just waste his one wish? But slowly as he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Deep in his heart, that was what he wanted—to make Sharpay happy and he didn't care what it took to do it._

"_I meant it, Sharpay," he said softly. "I just want you to be happy." _

_She didn't say anything and none of the fish uttered a word. It was a long time that they remained unspoken. All he knew was that slowly, the cave began to lighten as the streaks of sunlight filtered through cracks of the cave roof. Finally he could see Sharpay clearly and her face stared down at him as soon as she could see him. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks. He stared back at her, resigned to his fate and did the only thing he could do: He swam nearer to her. At the same time she lowered her face in the water until she was completely submerged. Troy didn't hesitate as he pushed forward until his mouth reached hers._

* * *

He felt her stir and press against his cold mouth. It was the most wonderful sensation he ever felt and he kissed her back in as much as he could.

Suddenly, he felt her lips slide across his as if he had a pair of lips to kiss her back. But at the same time, he began to choke. He couldn't breathe. He opened his eyes and found his vision wasn't as good as it was before. Everything was dark.

And then pain.

So much pain shot through his tiny body like it did before when he transformed. Instinctively, he wreathed and kicked until his head came up above the water. He screamed as he felt his entire body being pulled apart. He could feel new sensations again in parts of his body that previously didn't exist. Yet they were all familiar—the prickling of hair above his skin, the coldness of water, the fishy scent coupled by the musty air of the cave, and finally the high-pitched sounds of a human scream that was competing with his.

The pain abruptly stopped but the screams didn't. He realized they were not emitting from his mouth but on the girl in front of him. But this time, he wasn't looking up at Sharpay anymore. Despite the 

dimness of the cave, he realized was looking down at her—like he used to when he was human and taller than her.

"Sharpay…" he whispered.

She stopped screaming and eyed him as if she were seeing a ghost. She slowly moved towards him and touched the side of his face. "Troy…?" Her eyes lit up. "You're back!"

Troy looked down and saw that he had hands again, a torso, legs—an entire human body. Completely naked of course, and that thought suddenly made him feel self-conscious. He was glad that the light in the cave was dim enough and that half of his body was still submerged underwater so Sharpay wouldn't see. But at the same time he remembered all the fish were still under there and had really good eyesight even in pitch dark waters. He could just imagine them seeing him in all his glory and that just made him blush. But then Sharpay threw her arms at his neck and hugged him. He dismissed the thought immediately as he delighted in the sensation of having skin again to feel hers.

"_I'm back!"_ he exclaimed.

She pulled away and her face registered alarm. "And you're still talking fish!"

"Oh… I mean really?"

She smiled at him with a more relieved expression. "That's much better. I guess you didn't lose the ability to talk fish."

"_Yes… _I mean yes… I suppose not." She moved forward into a ray of light and he could clearly see her face. Her hair hung in clumps and was a tangled mess while her pajama top hung with bits of mud and moss. And yet all he could think of was how radiantly happy she looked as she stared up at him with her brown eyes, filled with tears. He leaned down to meet her lips again when…

He jumped up and parted from her as he felt something rub up his leg!

"_Sharpay? Troy? Is everything alright?"_ Troy heard Nahoa clearly from under the water. He felt several fins tickle his bare leg and this was followed by a chorus of curious little fish asking them at the same time what was going on. He remembered they weren't alone.

"_Yes, yes,"_ Troy assured them. _"I'm human again, but I can still talk to you."_

"_Oh," _said Kau'i who sounded disappointed. _"I suppose that wouldn't be so bad. But you'll come visit us again sometime just like Sharpay?"_

"_Uhhmmm… yes,"_ Troy said as he gently used his hand to push back the curious little fish which happened to be rubbing a very sensitive part of his inner thigh. He tried to keep a straight face so Sharpay wouldn't notice but she seemed to understand what was going on. She gave a little giggle and he could only turn away to hide his blush.

"_Sharpay the humans are still out there looking for you," _said Peleo.

Sharpay's expression grew serious. _"I suppose we should come out now."_ She submerged herself so she can be nearer to the fish. Troy took a gulp of air and followed after her. He couldn't see the fish but he could hear them and feel their presence all around him.

"_Thank you so much all of you,"_ Sharpay said to them. _"We have to leave now but we promise to be back soon."_

"_What about the curse?"_ asked Nahoa.

Troy had almost forgotten about that. So far everything seemed normal about him. He was just glad to be back to human form. He supposed maybe his new ability might have something to do about it but he couldn't see how that would be bad. At most he would probably end up like Sharpay and be thought of as crazy but at least they've got each other's back now.

"_I don't know," _said Troy as he reached for Sharpay's hand to clasp it underwater. _"I suppose we'll find out soon."_

Sharpay squeezed his hand to indicate she understood.

"_We have to go now,"_ said Troy. _"But we'll be back as soon as we can. Thank you again, so much, all of you."_

The fish all muttered their goodbyes before Troy and Sharpay popped their heads up to the surface again.

"I guess we better go out there now," said Troy.

"What do we tell them?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I have no idea, we'll think of something. But I'm here for you, I promise," he added to reassure her.

They took huge gulps of air and dived back into the water together, their hands clasped. The fish led them out by shouting out directions though Troy knew the cave entrance enough when he was a fish to know where he was going.

Finally they came out in the sunlight. At once, he heard his father's voice call out:

"TROY!"

Before he could even adjust his eyesight to the brightness, his father had him engulfed in a tight embrace.

"I'm okay… I'm okay," he gasped through his Dad's bone-crushing hug.

"I thought you were dead!" his father replied. He pulled Troy towards the nearest lake bank and lifted him up on the rocks. His embarrassment was back in full force as he lay uncovered on the mossy rock and he realized there were so many people around.

There were dozens of men in the water and far beyond on the other edge of the lake was Mr. Evans with more of his staff. Half of them were staring up at him. The other half's attention was on Sharpay who was being half-carried by one of the island staff towards another rock.

His father took off his shirt and helped him put it on around his legs. Troy was glad for the covering at least.

"Where did you get these?" his father asked with concern. Troy realized his father meant the large bruises on his head and the smaller cuts on his arms. Troy knew exactly where he got them. The cuts were from three days ago when he found Sharpay in the cave in the beach and tried to get to her. He had been cut on the rocks then. But the bigger bruises on his head were from Gabriella when she bashed his head once from a shampoo bottle and the second time with a pail. Troy however couldn't explain as he was beginning to shiver all over with the cold air. One of the island staff however came over with a blanket and covered Troy with it before he began checking his vital signs.

"It's okay son, he's the island nurse," his father explained.

Troy allowed himself to be checked for a few minutes before the nurse pronounced: "Well his heart rate is normal, so is his temperature, that's a good sign. But he must be dehydrated by now if he's been in this lake for the last three days."

"Dad, I'm not—" Troy began but the nurse cut him off.

"Don't try to talk. It's best to get you inside quickly, get changed and get a meal. But don't go to sleep yet, I'm worried about that bruise on your head." The nurse shot an accusatory look at Sharpay who was also being checked over by another island staffer. The nurse turned back to give his father a meaningful look. Troy suddenly realized what they were thinking: They suspected Sharpay of doing this to him.

"Dad, it's not her—" he started again but never got to finish it.

"Let's get you inside son. I'll handle this. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm okay," he assured him. However, when he stood up he was a bit wobbly on his feet and nearly fell down on the rock again. He realized he had not used his legs to walk in the last three days and he needed some time to get reacquainted with him. His father however seem to take this as a sign of exhaustion. He and the island nurse half carried him through the rocks towards where Vance Evans was hugging Sharpay.

"What happened?" Troy's Dad called out sharply to the Evans father and daughter although Troy knew the question was directed at Sharpay. "How did he end up there?"

Sharpay appeared to shrink at his father's glare. Her eyes met Troy's helplessly. Troy knew if he didn't say something Sharpay would end up in trouble.

"It's not her fault. She didn't do anything to hurt me."

"Then how did he end up there? Three days! THREE DAYS! He could have died! Look at him! JUST LOOK AT HIM!" This time his father flashed directly at Mr. Evans in a clear accusation.

"Look, Jack let's get the kids back to the house," pleaded Vance Evans. "They might need medical attention." He ordered his staff to carry Troy up the hill.

"I can walk! I'm fine!" Troy protested though he still accepted his father's arm for support.

For the next several minutes, the entire group climbed up the hill in silence. Troy could feel the tension in the air but thankfully his father held his tongue and focused on getting him down the mountain in the most comfortable way possible. At the foot of the hill two mini vans stood waiting for them to take them back to the house. His father assisted Troy on the first with the Evanses took the second.

"Are you hungry? Do you want water?" his father asked when they were comfortably rolling away.

"Just a bit of breakfast later," Troy reassured him. "But I can wait."

"But you must be starving."

Troy was starting to get hungry but not as much as his father thought he was. He couldn't explain that he had sufficient food to eat last night in the cave given the lush algae growing there.

"Where were you anyway?" his father asked when he didn't reply.

"In a cave in the lake," he answered honestly. "Look, Dad, it wasn't Sharpay's fault. I went there with her on my own."

His father gave him a puzzled look. "But you were missing and…"

They could no longer continue their conversation as the minivan reached the house. He saw Chad, Gabriella, Kelsi, Taylor, Jason, Zeke, Ryan and Mrs. Evans waiting outside the house. They surrounded the van as soon as it pulled up.

"Alright clear out!" his Dad ordered. "Give us some room. He needs to lie down for a moment." His friends backed down and his father set him on the nearest couch in the living room. He could see that his friends all wanted to run to his side but his father kept them back.

Mr. Evans came in holding on to a blanket-covered Sharpay. The moment she stepped into the room, Troy's friends began verbally attacking her:

"What the hell did you do to him?!"

"You tried to kill him, didn't you?"

"Where have you hidden him?"

"You lying little bitch!"

Sharpay shrank back from her accusers and finally stared at Troy with a loss expression. Troy tried to think of a way out of it but he couldn't come up with a story to save her. So he came out with the truth.

"SHE WASN'T LYING!" Troy shouted and that effectively silenced them all. Everyone's gaze turned to him but Troy only noticed Sharpay. She was shaking her head at him her lips mouthing the words "No!" He knew she was telling him to just lie and let her take the accusation. But he couldn't let her take the blame. He was going to stand by her no matter what.

"Sharpay didn't lie," he continued. "I was the fish. I got turned into a fish just as she said."

He got blank stares all around, except for Sharpay who was still shaking her head at him.

"Troy… don't… let me—"

"No Sharpay, I'm telling them the truth," he said firmly. He turned back to the others. "Sharpay made a wish when she was young to Fufu's wishing shrine. The legend is true and three days ago I got turned into a fish. I was here all the time as the fish in her tub. And last night we snuck out to turn me back so we went back to the cave to wish me back and…"

He stopped talking as he realized the stares remained expressionless.

"Look this isn't a joke!" Troy cried. "I really was the fish—"

One face finally gained an expression—Mr. Evans. He held up his hands as if to stop him from speaking. "Look, I think I understand," he said gently with an apologetic look to Troy's Dad before turning back to Troy. "I'm really sorry about all this, son but I think you should get some rest for the moment." He turned to the rest of his protesting friends with an equally apologetic look. "I think we should let Troy get some rest and let the doctor look at him. He's obviously been under a lot of stress."

"Yes, he was, no thanks to your daughter!" Gabriella bit back angrily. "Look what she did to him!" She pointed at Troy's forehead.

Troy boiled at the remark for he remembered who exactly gave him that bruise which was now beginning to hurt. "Sharpay, didn't hit me! You did! With a shampoo bottle and a pail…"

"Troy, stop! Let's get you upstairs to rest," his father cut him again. And before Troy could protest further his father led him gently but firmly out of the room and up the stairs. Troy didn't resist. He decided it wouldn't be prudent to do so. Sharpay was also being led to her room by Mrs. Evans after him. He thought Sharpay would be safe away from his friends for the moment. Her parents would make sure of that. He could all explain this later to his friends when they had cooler heads.

"It's okay, Sharpay," he called out to her before they parted on the floor of his room. "I'm here for you."

Sharpay could only smile back at him before her mother led her further up. Troy let himself be led into his bedroom. On his bedside table was a generous helping of food.

"Go eat something, Troy," his father told him. "I'll just go talk to Vance."

"Dad, Sharpay's not to blame—"

"Just eat. I'll be right back."

There was nothing for him to do but obey. He was hungry anyway since it was already past breakfast time. Besides, he was confident Sharpay's dad would protect her in any way.

His father came back with a doctor. The doctor checked him thoroughly.

"Well, he's not dehydrated," the doctor remarked. "He appears normal. He does have a nasty bruise on the forehead but it's not serious. The cuts appear to be healing nicely and it won't do any damage. Wash up and get some sleep."

Troy was glad for the verdict. His father already laid out some dry clothes for him and a towel.

"I'll go wash up now then, Dad," said Troy. He headed towards the bathroom but the doctor stopped him and handed him a small plastic cup.

"You have to fill this when you urinate," he said.

Troy was puzzled and gave his father an appropriate look.

His father heaved a sigh. "You need a drug test."

Troy was aghast. "Dad, I'm not on drugs!"

"I know, I know you wouldn't deliberately take them," his father said in a calm tone. "But Sharpay—it has crossed my mind that she might have…"

Troy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Now they're accusing Sharpay of drugging him on top of suspecting her of kidnapping, injuring him, attempted murder and heaven knows what else.

"She didn't drug me. She's done nothing wrong to me but try to save my life." He stopped as he realized it was pointless to argue with words and insist on the supernatural. The best way to convince him was really the solid evidence that he was clean. He took the cup from his father. "Fine."

He walked to the bathroom, took a shower, filled the cup and got changed. He handed the cup back to the doctor who took his leave.

"There's nothing there, Dad," he assured him.

"Just get some rest," his father replied gently.

Troy knew there was nothing left to do but get some sleep. He was exhausted and he lay on his bed and his father left him alone. Yet, he couldn't sleep. He was too worried about Sharpay. He sat up in bed and pondered what would happen to her now? He knew she could be charged with several crimes against him. Of course Mr. Evans will stop at nothing to keep his daughter from ending up in jail. So 

most likely Sharpay will be declared insane by some stupid psychiatrist Mr. Evans can pay for and she'll be placed in a mental ward instead.

Troy couldn't understand it. Didn't he wish for her to be happy? So why was she still the one that ended up miserable?

_That old fish was right. I should never have made that wish. It's happening now. The curse. Sharpay's paying for it because of me._

There was a knock on the door and Troy didn't answer. He just wanted to be alone. But apparently whoever it was didn't want to wait for his permission to enter. The door opened and Gabriella stepped inside. Troy stifled a groan. Her timing couldn't have been worst. He wanted to pretend to be asleep but she already saw he was awake so there was no use avoiding her.

She sat by the edge of his bed uninvited. "How are you?"

He didn't answer back. Images of her chasing him in tub and her triumphant smile as she watched Sharpay being sedated were still fresh on his mind.

"Troy, I came here to check—" she touched his arm but he pulled back as if her touch burned him. He sat up but turned away from her.

"Could you just let me rest? I'm not really up for talking," he hinted as evenly as he could. Despite his anger, he didn't want to be rude.

But apparently Gabriella didn't get the hint. She put something around his neck. He realized it was the G necklace she gave to him before. Then she threw her arms around him and before he knew it she was desperately kissing the side of his face.

"I was so worried. I thought she killed you," she whispered between kisses.

Troy tried to push her away but she wasn't budging and she continued to whisper to him while raining kisses on his face. "We'll get her Troy. I promise. I won't stop until she's in jail. We'll get a good lawyer. My Mom has some contacts."

"Gabriella, stop! Just let go of—" But he didn't get to finish his protest. Gabriella crashed her lips on his and forcefully held his head in place. At the same time he heard the door burst open.

"Troy! Troy! Mama Liat's okay, she's woken from her—"

Troy managed to push Gabriella away from him only to find Sharpay staring at him with a pained look on her face.


	19. Sorting It Out

**Chapter Sixteen**

**(2nd Version)**

**Sorting it Out**

Troy jumped up. "Sharpay it's not…"

But Sharpay just shook her head. "I-I'm sorry for interrupting." She started to leave but turned back to Gabriella. "I'm sorry too, Gabriella. I didn't mean to hurt you." She turned away just as her mother burst through the door followed by two women. Troy recognized them as the same ones that forcefully sedated her.

"She's here!" Mrs. Evans cried. "Oh for heaven's sakes, why can't you keep her in her room!"

The women advanced on her and Troy instinctively moved to protect her. But Sharpay merely held up her arms in clear surrender.

"You don't have to do that," she said. "I'll go Mother. I'll stay in my room and I'm not leaving again. And I'll go see Dr. Johnson tomorrow."

Troy watched her walk away with a defeated slump of her shoulders and he realized what she must be thinking of him.

"Sharpay, wait!" he called out but she didn't even look back. Mrs. Evans blocked his path.

"Troy, I don't know how I can begin to apologize for Sharpay, but you have to understand that she's got problems. We'll get her the best treatment—"

"She's not insane!" Troy protested.

Mrs. Evans looked even more panicked and even though Troy didn't think highly of Mrs. Evans right now, he could understand that she just wanted to protect her daughter.

"Troy, she has a history of being mentally imbalanced. She didn't mean to hurt you."

"She didn't hurt me, Mrs. Evans. And I'm not filing charges. I just need to talk to her."

Mrs. Evans immediately looked relieved but still refused to move from his path. "Thank you, Troy. But I don't think it's a good idea to talk to her today. I think she needs rest and so do you."

"But…"

"You'll have time tomorrow," Mrs. Evans dismissed and walked away in that haughty manner of hers that indicated that this conversation was over.

"Come back in Troy," he felt Gabriella pull at his arm. Troy viciously wrenched away from her grasp and this time he had no more patience to even try to be polite. He just wanted to be away from her.

"Get out, Gabriella!"

"Troy, I understand if you want rest, but I just want to stay here with you. I promise I'll be quiet."

"No! Leave me alone! I don't want you near me!"

She looked hurt and Troy hated to see that but he couldn't get himself to feel bad for her. He just wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

"Troy, I know Sharpay did something terrible to you and you probably still have some post-traumatic stress. But I'm sure with a bit of therapy you'll get over this. I'll help you."

But Troy shook his head as his temper burst and he could no longer control them. "You know the only person who's done something terrible to me is you! You tried to kill me!"

"Troy, what are you talking about?" she asked confused.

"Don't deny it, Gabriella!" he said sharply. "I was there. I was the fish. You ordered me cooked and served to my own father and friends. You tried to eat me just so you could torture Sharpay!"

"Listen to yourself," she bit back. "You're not making any sense."

He heaved a sigh. He realized she will never believe him. Perhaps he couldn't really blame her. It was a pretty far-fetched story. But if she wouldn't accept the truth and keep insisting he's either lying or crazy then how can their relationship even continue? But when he thought about it, he realized he didn't even care to continue this relationship anyway. Because he suddenly knew he never really loved her. She was just someone that grew on him because she was comfortable. But he could never see her as someone who would stand beside him years from now and make him truly happy. On the other hand, there was Sharpay. A few days of knowing her weren't enough for him to fall in love with Sharpay, he knew that. But those days were enough to make him see the possibility of him loving her and he wasn't going to throw away that chance by hanging any longer to Gabriella.

"You know what?" he said. "Just forget it, I'm done explaining. I'm done with us as well." He snatched the G-pendant on his neck and wrenched it viciously so that the chain snapped. He handed it to her.

She stared at it in shock. "Troy?"

He merely held the door open for her indicating that she should leave. But Gabriella ran forward and threw her arms around his waist in a desperate bear hug. "Oh Troy, you don't mean that! You don't mean that! She's done something to you," she cried.

Troy pried her arms off him and faced her coldly. "She's done nothing but risk her life and her reputation for me, which is more than you've ever done."

Tears streamed down her face and Troy hated to see her cry. But he knew this has to end now. He heaved a heavy sigh and forced himself to face her bravely. "I'm sorry, but this time, I quit."

Gabriella slowly stepped back looking confused. She didn't realize she had gone past the door. Troy took advantage of that and closed the door before she could do anything else. He locked it firmly and swore to himself he would ignore her any attempt to get back in.

But she didn't do anything. Everything was silent after that and Troy went back to bed to brood. He stared at the ceiling for a long time before slowly closing his eyes.

When he opened them it was pitch dark. He realized he had fallen asleep. He could tell from the dark that he had been out for several hours for it was night time now. He could hear the familiar sounds of Chad's and his Dad's snores in the other beds.

He slowly got up from the bed and out of the room, careful not to make a sound. His one thought was to check on Sharpay. He had to make sure she was still here and not shipped into some mental ward.

Troy found the corridors and staircase leading to Sharpay's room empty. He easily got to her bedroom door on the third floor without encountering anyone. There he saw two crude locks placed by the door and figured these were the locks that were hurriedly placed after the first time Sharpay was sedated. Troy now understood why Gabriella could get in so easily into Sharpay's room. The locks were the small simple hinges that you slid in place, like the ones for the toilet cubicles at school. The door handle was broken so Sharpay couldn't lock herself in but she couldn't get out because of those little locks. It may be just a simple lock but it was a prison all the same.

Troy slowly unlocked the door and crept inside. The room was dark with only a small lamp giving off a faint illumination. Troy saw that Sharpay was in bed dressed in her familiar 

pink pajamas and white tank top. But she wasn't asleep. She was staring at the ceiling before she turned startled to see him.

"It's me Sharpay," he said to assure her.

"Oh," she replied hoarsely and he knew she had been crying.

"Can we talk?" he asked. "Nobody knows I'm here."

She turned away but when she replied her tone was cold. "You don't have to feel guilty. I get it. You love Gabriella."

"Sharpay…"

She got up from the bed to face him and he was amazed at the way she can blink back her tears so fast. Her old ice queen look was back. "Look, Troy you're back to being human. That's all that matters. So leave me alone!"

"Sharpay, don't… you don't understand…"

"Yes, I do. I don't need your pity, Bolton. You can even file charges against me if you want or say I'm crazy. I'm going to therapy anyway and one more person who thinks I belong to the loony bin won't hurt me anymore."

It hurt him that she used his last name. "Don't be like that. I'm here for you. Didn't I wish to make you happy? I meant it, Sharpay because I care about you."

"Oh don't patronize me!" she bit back as she continued to stare daggers at him. "You think I'm not happy? I'm happy, Bolton! I'm so ecstatic that you're back so I won't have to risk my neck out for you anymore. You're no longer my responsibility and you can finally GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE!"

"I don't believe that not after what you told me in the cave. You said you loved me."

She refused to meet his gaze and he knew she couldn't deny what she said before. "So have a good laugh. I'm sure I'm not the first girl who's declared her undying admiration for you. Just do me a favor and do it outside my room." She pointed to the door and when she spoke again she couldn't hide the hurt in her voice. "Just go, Troy and remember to lock my door on the way out because I might attack someone else if I get out of my holding cell."

Troy did quite the opposite. In three strides he was beside her and had his arms firmly around her, her back to his chest. At once she began to resist.

"Let me go!"

"No, not until we sort this out."

"It's already been sorted. I'm crazy and you can walk away and save your reputation. It's as simple as that!" She jabbed her elbow at his stomach and he bowled over in pain but he refused to set her free.

"I'm not going to do that. I told you before I'm going to be here for you. And if this is the curse, I'm not letting you take it alone. Owww!" He got another painful jab in the ribs but he still refused to let go. "Sharpay, just stop fighting, I'm not letting go."

She answered by stomping on his foot and attempting to make another jab with her elbow. He realized in time that she was aiming for his groin and tried to deflect it while continuing to hold on to her. The result was that he fell backwards and landed on the floor, with her on top of him. Thankfully he landed on the soft rug so his poor bum managed to get cushioned by the blow. She continued to struggle against him and for some time he felt like he just entered a wrestling match with a very difficult opponent. Finally, she gave him one well-aimed jab on the ribs and she was free. She quickly rolled over so she could get up but Troy didn't give her a chance. He was on top of her and he effectively used his legs to pin hers while he used both hands to immobilize her arms. She suddenly stopped struggling and let out a sob.

"Please just let me be, Troy." Her voice lost their iciness. "Don't make this harder for me."

Troy relaxed his hold on her but she made no move to push him away or free herself. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks.

"I love you but you don't have an obligation to love me back. That's not what got you back. It's your wish. And… and I'm happy... coz you're human again, you know… and that's what makes me happy, right?"

Troy used the back of his hand to wipe away her tears. "No, it's not. I don't know if Fufu really granted my wish because you're far from happy. I think that old fish was right. This is a curse and I blame myself for it, not you. I'm not going to let you take this curse alone."

He got up from her so she was able to sit up. He hugged her again and this time she no longer resisted. He tightened his hold on her as her body rocked with sobs. His buried his nose in her hair and he inhaled her scent. The familiar smell of vanilla wafted through his nostrils. A pleasant memory of his childhood flooded his mind.

"I'm here for you Sharpay. I don't care if they don't believe us. We'll stick to the truth even if I have to end up in therapy with you."

She slowly pulled back slightly to face him. "Troy, I don't want you to go through what I did… I don't want you to lose…" she swallowed hard. "Gabriella…" she added quietly.

"Sharpay what you saw wasn't… I mean Gabriella kissed me, I was trying to push her away…"

Sharpay stared at him doubtfully.

"It's true. Look, I broke up with her tonight." He cupped her cheeks with his hands to stare at her intently. "I don't love her. I can't. Not after what she did. And maybe even before that, I knew our relationship was heading towards the end."

"I'm not expecting you to fall in love with me in three days Troy," she said. "I don't believe in fairy tale endings anymore—at least not the Disney kind."

"I don't believe in Disney fairy tale endings either, Sharpay. Not even Enchanted, although that one's adorably cute."

That earned him a giggle from her. Her lips were so close to him and he could smell her breath. It was giving off another familiar scent: peppermint. He figured it must have been her toothpaste. The scent was mixing with her hair. Vanilla and peppermint. He never forgot that. It was his first kiss after all, and hers. Even though it was almost a decade earlier he could still remember it clearly and he wanted to relive it now. But before he could do so she pulled away, got up and sat on her own bed.

"I don't want to be the rebound girl, Troy. These last few days we've been together changes a lot of things between us. You know how I feel about you, but I don't want you to feel you're compromising your feelings to suit mine. I wouldn't want something that's forced."

Troy understood and he was glad Sharpay felt that way. Even though he liked her very much right now and maybe fancied the thought of being in love with her, he wasn't exactly sure. Everything was happening so fast he just didn't seem like he had enough time to sort things out.

"You're right. I'm not in love with you," Troy admitted. "I know that. But I want to get a chance to love you." He moved his thumb to caress her cheek. "Will you give me that chance?"

Sharpay finally turned to him to offer him a warm smile he knew wasn't fake. "Yes. I'd like that very much. Friends?"

"Sure." He gave her a platonic hug before she pulled away to lie back down on the bed under the covers. He made no further move. He didn't want to complicate things between 

them just now even with a single kiss even though he wanted to taste her vanilla peppermint flavor again. He just sat up on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Here, keep your feet warm," she said as she offered the end of her blanket.

Troy was feeling a bit cold so he moved his legs up on the bed and took up her offer.

"Mama Liat's out of her coma," Sharpay told him once he was comfortable.

"Oh yeah, you were telling me that," Troy remembered. "So how is she?"

"Maile said the doctors were puzzled about her recovery this morning. It's strange isn't it? I think she recovered the moment you turned back. They said she just woke up and demanded to be taken home to see me."

"Strange indeed, I don't think it's a coincidence at all."

"I don't think any of this is a coincidence, Troy," agreed Sharpay. "Well Maile said the doctors will be keeping her for observation for one more night. She'll be home here tomorrow if everything goes well. We could finally talk to her and maybe we could understand what really happened to us."

"Yeah. At least we'll have her on our side."

They stopped talking after that. For a long time Troy sat very still, listening to the sounds of the crickets and tick-tocking of the bedside clock. Finally, he heard Sharpay's breathing even and he knew she was falling asleep. He looked down and saw her eyes closed. He knew he should go and let her get some rest but he wanted to stay for a few minutes more to watch her sleep. He gently lay back down on the bed to be on eye level with her and continued to watch as she purred softly in that sweet little catlike way. A lock of her blonde hair was falling over her eyes and he used a finger to brush it aside. As he did, she muttered softly:

"Troy, I'm happy just being here with you."

Troy pondered about her words and recalled his wish to make her happy. Someone told him before that happiness was a state you always try to get into, no matter how elusive. It is never constant but for as long as one lives one strives to find the balance to attain and maintain it.

And as if by lightening strike, Troy understood why Fufu returned him to human form when he made that wish. But whether it was a blessing or a curse, he didn't exactly know. Was it a curse that he will strive to make Sharpay happy for the rest of her life?

* * *

Sharpay felt cozy. It was so comforting she didn't wish to move at all. But slowly she opened her eyes and found herself staring at the crook of Troy's neck. She blinked as she recalled what happened last night and wished that it wasn't all a dream.

But it wasn't a dream. Troy was still in her bed and he appeared to have stayed there and dosed off after she had fallen asleep.

Morning sunlight was filtering through her windows giving her enough light to admire Troy's handsome face. He really did look like a prince right now and Sharpay was completely mesmerized with him. Despite the fact that she didn't believe in Disney fairy tales, Sharpay wanted to pretend for just this moment that she was in one. She planted a soft kiss on his forehead. "Rest well, sleeping beauty," she whispered to him. "Love me one day."

He answered with a nasally snore that sounded like a cross between someone gargling to get rid of phlegm and a motorcycle engine firing up.

Sharpay giggled. What a way to kill the romance.

And as if the romance gods were conspiring against her, the door burst open and Ryan strode in. Sharpay felt a sudden rush of panic. Even though it was just Ryan, it was still a rather awkward situation having to let your brother know there was a boy in your bed, even if nothing happened between them. She quickly covered Troy's head with the blanket before Ryan could see him.

"DON'T YOU EVER KNOCK?!" she shouted at Ryan as she sat up. Her high pitched tone was louder than she wanted in an effort to hide Troy's snoring. She didn't have to worry though. Troy appeared to have quieted down.

"Sorry Shar," said Ryan apologetically. "But I really need to talk to you. Troy's been missing from his room again. We woke up this morning and he's out of bed. We can't find him anywhere and Coach Bolton's worried. We're all worried. Do you know where he is? Please?"

Sharpay prayed that Troy would keep silent until Ryan went away. She'll wake up Troy as soon as her twin was gone and send him out and no one would have to know he spent the night next to her.

"How should I know?" she sniped. "You kept me locked here all night and I just woke up!"

Ryan eyed her doubtfully. "Actually your door's unlo—never mind." He made a move to go. Sharpay was just congratulating herself when someone else knocked at the door. Ryan replied: "Come in" and Coach Bolton entered followed by her father, mother, Chad and Zeke.

Sharpay felt herself blush and hurriedly lay back down. Maybe she could pretend she had only just gotten up so they would all leave.

"Sharpay, princess, I'm sorry to wake you but I need to ask—"

Her father's question was cut off with a female scream outside her room. "Taylor, let go of me!"

"I don't think it's a good idea to antagonize her!" Taylor voice replied.

"To hell with her!" shouted Gabriella before she appeared in the room like a harpy and pushed everyone aside.

"SHARPAY, HE'S MISSING AGAIN! WHERE IS HE?!"

"I- ah…"

"I'm right here," Troy's voice came from under the sheets. Sharpay felt him sit up next to her and she felt her face grow hot.

"Look, it's not what it looks like," she said in a pathetic attempt to explain to her parents. "Troy and I aren't… I mean nothing happened."

She met her father's gaze and looked away just in time to meet Gabriella's look of pure venom before she stormed out of the room. Sharpay couldn't help but grin triumphantly but her smile melted as she faced her father again. He had his arms crossed on his chest and he was giving Troy that look that he only reserved for hostile company takeovers.

"Troy, get up from there!" Coach Bolton ordered.

Troy hurriedly got up from bed but he paused in front of Sharpay's father. Sharpay had to admire his nerve. Most men didn't even have the courage to face her father when he gave them that look.

"Sir, I swear, I never touched Sharpay. We just talked last night."

Her father didn't reply and Sharpay could see he was having an internal struggle not to use his fists knowing that there were bigger things at stake. She was relieved when Coach Bolton interrupted.

"TROY, OUT! NOW!"

He didn't need another word and followed his father and friends out the door but he managed to sneak a smile at Sharpay and she smiled back knowing that whatever will come they'll handle it together.

But when the door closed she felt her parents' gaze boring down at her again.

"Nothing happened Daddy," she assured him.

But to her surprise her father just sat down at the edge of her bed and enveloped her in a hug.

"I love you princess," he whispered.

Sharpay couldn't help but be touched by the gesture and she hugged him back. "I love you too, Daddy," she replied and she meant it. Even though he hurt her so much these few days by not believing her, she knew her father only had her best interests at heart and she was grateful for that.

"We'll get through this, I promise," he whispered.

She knew she couldn't convince him otherwise but she had Troy's support and that was enough. Therapy wouldn't seem so bad. She could always lie like before and eventually everything would go back to normal again, like it should be.

"I'll go to therapy like you want," she told him in an effort to make peace.

"Thank you, sweetheart," her father said as he kissed her forehead. He turned to her mother.

"Honey, confirm the appointment with Dr. Johnson tomorrow, alright?"

"Of course dear," said her mother.

He glanced back at Sharpay before turning to his wife again to whisper something to her. But apparently her father was a bad whisperer and Sharpay heard him clearly: "Ask Maile to get a pregnancy test kit just in case."

Sharpay buried her face in the pillow to muffle a scream.

**A/N: **There, I finally got Gabriella her deserved payback. Was it too harsh? This isn't over yet since I still have lots of kinks to iron out. I didn't want Sharpay and Troy to just start out a romantic relationship 

immediately. Like Sharpay, I don't really believe in love at first sight or falling in love in three days. It's just too unrealistic. I couldn't resist mentioning Enchanted here. If any of you have seen that film, that one pokes a bit of fun on the "love-at-first-sight" concept but the characters still declare they're undying affections after just three days which is still unbelievable.

As for the reference here about vanilla, peppermint and Troy's first kiss, you can find out all about it if you check out my other one-shot story, "Vanilla, Peppermint and the Metal Monster."


	20. Belief Beyond Logic

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Belief beyond Logic**

**(2****nd**** Version)**

Jack Bolton stared at Troy as he tried to digest everything that his son just said. He looked normal enough. He had a good night's rest and ample food since he was found. His drug test came out clean and the scans on his head revealed he didn't get brain damage.

So why in the world was Troy still going on about wishing shrines and turning into a fish?

"Do you believe me now, Dad?" Troy asked.

Jack couldn't answer. He spent the past several hours in a hospital suite, listening to his son relate what happened to him while he disappeared.

It was the second day since they found him. Mr. Evans brought Troy to the hospital in the mainland yesterday. Troy was confined overnight while they had him tested and scanned thoroughly for any signs of physical damages. So far, the doctors found nothing apart from a bruise on his head and a few superficial cuts on his arms and legs. They were now just waiting for the doctor's orders to discharge him. Jack was all for going back to Albuquerque with Troy as soon as possible but with Troy still going on with this fairy tale, Jack was now considering taking up Vance's offer of having Troy talk to Sharpay's psychiatrist. Sharpay was in session right now. Jack thought maybe Troy should have a turn after her.

Troy sighed. "You still don't believe me." It wasn't a question.

"Troy…" he began gently. "I wish I could son…" He meant it, he really did. Because if he was honest with himself his son's story was beginning to sound more valid than any scientific explanation he could come up with. His mind went back to the movie he saw last night on the TV while he sat watching over a sleeping Troy in the hospital bed. The TV was broken and stuck to only one channel: Disney. They were showing the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jack normally didn't watch children's movies but he had nothing else to do so he watched it. He did enjoy the battle scenes in the end. But now he was remembering the scene where Peter and Susan went to the Professor to consult about their problem with Lucy:

"_What was it like?" the Professor asks._

"_Like talking to a lunatic," Susan answers_

"_No, not her - the forest!"_

"_You're not saying you believe her?" Peter asks._

"_You don't?"_

"_Of course not. I mean, logically, it's impossible," Susan voices._

"_What do they teach in schools these days?" the Professor mutters to himself._

"_Edmund said they were only pretending," Peter explains._

"_And he's usually the more truthful one, is he?"_

"_No… this would be the first time." Peter answers._

"_So, if she's not mad and she's not lying, then logically…we must assume she's telling the __truth."_

_Peter looks at him doubtfully: "You're saying we should just believe her?_

"_She's your sister, isn't she? You're a family. You might just try acting like one."_

Jack was now feeling a bit like the older Pevensies. He stared at his son who was still giving him that disappointed look. Finally Troy just shook his head, his shoulders slumped. "It's okay Dad. It doesn't matter now." He turned away to look outside the window.

Jack was a lost what to do. There was a knock on the door and he was grateful for the distraction. It was the doctor with Troy's discharge. He was followed by Vance. The doctor pronounced him well enough to go home and left immediately.

"I'm glad that Troy's well," said Vance who looked relieved. He lowered his voice so only Jack can hear. "How is he? Is he still insisting on the…"

Jack understood and whispered back. "Yes."

Vance sighed. "Sharpay doesn't say much. She's rather tight-lipped with her psychiatrist. She says she doesn't want to lie, so she refuses to say anything anymore about what happened. Her doctor figures her old problem's recurring, probably with all this stress over her nanny. But she's clean Jack, I can assure you that. She's not on drugs and she's still…"

"Still what?" Jack asked.

Vance looked even more uncomfortable and whispered: "Her hymen's unbroken Jack, I had a gynecologist check her."

Jack understood and was glad that Vance put it in scientific terms rather than spelling it out. _Well at least my son's not sleeping with her or any other boy for that matter, but that's the least of my worries._

"She's going to continue taking psychological counseling," Vance went on. "She's very cooperative so far on seeing her doctor though she's not saying anything yet. But I'm sure in time she'll get herself back. Her nanny's back at the island now and I'm taking Sharpay home there as well in a few minutes. You and Troy are welcome to come back to the island to get some rest and recreation. I'll have the chopper ready for you at anytime. But maybe Troy can see Dr. Johnson now."

Jack looked at Troy. His son's attention focused on them as soon as he heard Vance said something about Sharpay's nanny. Troy had nagged him the previous night about seeing the nanny. He already explained to Jack why he needed to.

_I'm his father,_ Jack told himself as he met Troy's pleading gaze. _Maybe it's time I started acting like one._

"I appreciate it Vance," Jack said. "But I think Troy needs a bit more rest, so if you don't mind maybe we could just go back to the island with you. I don't think Troy's apt for talking to a shrink right now."

Vance nodded. "Alright. Let me just go make the arrangements and I'll come by to pick you up when Troy's dressed and ready."

"Thank you, Vance."

Vance took his leave and once the door closed Jack turned to Troy. His son had a grateful smile plastered to his face.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Just get dressed," replied Jack. He turned to open the wooden wardrobe to grab Troy's clothes that he hung up there the night before. As he did, Jack couldn't help but wonder whether Troy's story is as true as Lucy's Narnia.

He gave the back of the wooden wardrobe a knock just for good measure.

* * *

Troy stepped off the van and found his friends waiting to greet him at the doorstep. Despite everything that happened, he was glad they cared enough to stay and find out the result of his check up. Gabriella wasn't there and Troy hoped she returned home in his absence. He didn't really fancy another meeting with her.

"Everything alright with Troy?" Chad asked though the question was addressed to his father. Troy felt slightly annoyed at that. But Chad wasn't the only one doing it. Everyone else seemed to be addressing questions to his father and not to him. It was like they were afraid to talk to him.

"I'm fine," Troy answered in the most even voice he can muster. "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not on drugs, I don't have brain damage, I didn't get dehydrated and I'm not hallucinating."

There was a long uncomfortable silence, before Zeke finally muttered: "That's good to hear…"

Troy ignored them. He could see that it was hopeless to try to make people believe him. What was important now was that he talked to Sharpay. He hadn't seen her since he got caught in her bed the previous morning. He was anxious to find out how it went with her therapy. She didn't take the same chopper with him and Mr. Evans said she had gone ahead of them. He turned to Ryan who stood at the back to ask, but at that moment Sharpay herself appeared bounding down the staircase. She looked healthy enough and appeared like her usual sparkling self.

"Sharpay no!" her mother cried as she came running down after her.

"Mother, I need to see her," Sharpay called back.

"I don't think that's a good idea Sharpay," her mother said knowingly.

"But she just got out of a coma and she almost died. I need to see her." She turned to her father. "Daddy please?"

"Now princess, Mama Liat is fine and I don't think she should be bothered for now."

"But she's asking for me. Please, if I could just talk to her for a few minutes." She finally noticed Troy standing there. She made a move towards him but Mrs. Evans blocked his path.

"Mrs. Evans, please, I just want to talk to her," Troy begged though his gaze shifted between her and Mr. Evans who appeared just behind him. He was still aware how precarious his situation was with Sharpay's parents at this time.

"Look, Vance, I don't see the harm of them talking to each other," Troy was startled to hear his father speak. His Dad then whispered something to Sharpay's father. They seemed to discuss something for a minute. Mr. Evans looked hesitant.

"Not alone," Troy heard Mr. Evans say.

"Then let me," his Dad replied and Mr. Evans nodded.

"Derby, let them see Mama Liat."

"But…" Mrs. Evans protested. Mr. Evans said something to her that Troy couldn't discern but it appeared to convince Mrs. Evans enough—or at least reassure her halfway. "Everyone to lunch," Mr. Evans called out in a tone that expected to be obeyed. Troy's friends cast a worried look between him and Sharpay but followed Mr. Evans to the dinning room until Troy was left alone with Sharpay and his father.

"Come on," his father said gently. "She's in the ground floor guest bedroom."

Troy didn't need an explanation to what his father meant though he couldn't understand why he was doing it.

"Thanks Dad, but… why are you…?"

His father breathed a sigh. "Look, I'm not saying I believe you. If you two are just messing around with me I promise you'll regret it." Here he cast a warning look at Sharpay then continued. "But I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I just want to know what's going on and if talking to your nanny helps, then so be it. But I'll be there the whole time."

Troy shared a hopeful look with Sharpay. His father wasn't totally convinced but it was a start and a half-believing ally was better than none.

"I'm not lying sir," Sharpay told him seriously. "I'm sorry for all the trouble you've been through these past few days. But I assure you I would never try to hurt Troy. I need answers like you do. Mama Liat could get them for me. I just need you to keep an open mind."

His Dad looked eyed her steadily and Troy could tell he was trying his best to see through her. He finally gave a curt and uncompromising nod. He led them to the end guest bedroom on the ground floor where one of the maids was on standby by the door.

"Is she awake, Maile?" Sharpay asked.

The maid stared shiftily at her but Troy's Dad nodded that it was okay.

"Yes," Maile replied. "She keeps asking for you." She opened the door and let them in.

"Mama Liat!" Sharpay cried as she rushed to the old woman's bedside.

"My little Tiki...?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Troy was struck at how weak she appeared from just a few days ago. Sharpay noticed it too and was suddenly engulfed with tears.

"I thought I lost you!" Sharpay sobbed as she buried her head on the side of the mattress. Mama Liat stroked her hair like a dotting mother.

"Do not cry my Tiki," she soothed though Troy noticed her swallow hard and her eyes went glassy. Troy thought there was something strange about her eyes, but he figured it was just tears she was struggling to hold back.

When Sharpay's head finally rose to meet her gaze, she held her nanny's hands tight against hers. "You're going to be alright Mama Liat," Sharpay said though it sounded more like a question than reassurance.

The nanny gave her an almost sad smile. "Yes, I will be alright, now that I have seen you again, my little one. And you have brought your young man and his father." She stared at his Dad and seemed to assess him for a moment. Troy noticed his father looked a bit uncomfortable at her gaze. But Mama Liat finally gave him a satisfied look. "His doubt is understandable, but his love is enough. All will be well."

Troy couldn't help but feel an assurance with that pronouncement. His Dad looked frightened and put a hand on his shoulder. Troy let him be comforted that way.

"What is the time?" Mama Liat asked.

Troy gazed around. He had no watch and the room was bare of a clock. His father glanced at his own watch and pronounced it was eighteen minutes after two. The old woman nodded almost gratefully. "There is time." She squeezed Sharpay's hands. "Now tell me my little princess, what happened?"

Troy wondered whether Mama Liat was actually ignorant of what happened to him and Sharpay or she actually knew and merely wanted to hear their story. Either way, Troy and Sharpay didn't hesitate to tell her everything. His Dad said nothing but sat a little away and kept silent watch. And even when Mama Liat confirmed that she was the fish that wished to be human, he refrained from interrupting. Troy could tell his father he was wondering whether he was suddenly caught in the company of three lunatics. Troy though was fighting his own internal battle of questions for Mama Liat as soon as she admitted she was indeed the foolish fish. Why hadn't she warned them about all this? She could have prevented it. But he said nothing until they finished their tale. He was sure she would have an explanation for it.

"Was it true about my sister, Mama Liat?" Sharpay finally asked when their tale was over. "Did Lucy wish for this ability for me?"

"I thought she must have," Mama Liat said wistfully. "She was always an unselfish little one and she loved you so much."

Troy couldn't help but feel that Mama Liat had a very different view of what constitutes as a loving gift. "Well that gift cursed Sharpay for life!" he blurted out. Suddenly his anger over all the injustices done to Sharpay for years and his own horrendous experience in the last few days mounted and he couldn't stop himself: "Why didn't you tell her about the cave? You knew what the cave was. You knew Sharpay's sister found it. Why didn't you warn her against such a wish? And when Sharpay found it too, why didn't you warn her either?!"

"Troy, don't…" Sharpay warned him to calm down. However, Troy was too angry to listen.

"You could have prevented all of this! You could have told Sharpay not to make a wish or even prevented her from finding the cave or…" a sudden horrible idea struck him and he stared at Mama Liat with half-fear and suspicion. "Was it you that actually told Lucy where the cave is?" he asked. "Did you plan this all along?"

"Troy, what are you talking about?" Sharpay asked.

"No! She knew Sharpay! She knew about the cave. She was a fish that was cursed to become human. She made a mistake with wishing for it and yet she didn't stop you from doing the same thing!" He faced the old woman. "You said you loved Sharpay, but all you did was let her condemn herself to a curse! And now maybe she's twice cursed because of my wish that you could have stopped but didn't!"

Mama Liat didn't appear fazed by the withering look he gave her. In fact, her face remained serene and that just unnerved Troy that he backed away from her.

"Mama Liat, forgive Troy, he doesn't mean it," Sharpay said, but the nanny just offered a smile at her.

"He is angry because he cares for you, my little Tiki. He is afraid I have endangered you. And yes, I admit, he is right."

Sharpay's mouth fell into a round 'O' and she dropped her nanny's hand.

"I did not tell Lucy where the cave was. She found it on its own, brilliant child that she was. It was her fate to find it, just as it was the fate of my dearest husband Palani to find it. We all made wishes at great risk to ourselves. That is true. But life is a risk, without it we do not live at all."

"I don't understand, Mama Liat" Sharpay said. "You mean you let me risk myself? You risked me to a curse?"

Mama Liat gave a faint smile between her and Troy. "What is a blessing? What is a curse? It all depends on how you see it." She paused and stared up at the ceiling as if in deep thought before she spoke again in a tone of one who was happily reminiscing. "Many of my birth family thought me strange. I was a fish who dreamed of becoming more and the Great Spirit was my friend. I feel his presence always watching me like a father."

Troy sat down next to his father and stared at her, fascinated with her story. His Dad seemed in rapt attention as well as Mama Liat continued her tale:

"One day I saw a man swimming alone in the lake. I watched him from a far and he would dive down to the depths of my home as if he wanted to know every inch of it. He came everyday alone and I played beside him. He never brushed me aside and was always careful not to hurt me if I came too close. I thought how fascinating this other creature's world must be. Yet he appeared to be as curious of my world as I was of his. One day he found the cave and I followed him. And it was there when we were alone together that I began to understand what he was saying. He wished for a friend and I was able to speak his words. We became friends and he told me such wonders as I have never heard and also despair and loneliness as I have never experienced. And that's when I wished that I could be part of his world to ease his pain. Fufu granted my wish and I became human. It was painful, I admit that. I was torn from my family, forever unable to communicate with them. But he was there. He took care of me. He showed me his world and showed me to live a human life."

She stopped and turned to look at Sharpay. "My dear Palani. We had 28 years together—far longer than a life I could have spent with a hundred fish mates. When he died it broke me but I saw it not as a curse, for he showed me that there is much of a blessing in a human life. There is sorrow but there is also joy—in greater magnitudes that I can ever have as a fish."

She paused to touch Sharpay's cheek gently with her fingertips. "I have found my joy once in my husband. I found it again in you my Tiki. I found my chance of happiness at the greatest risk. I do not want to prevent you from finding yours by giving you a warning."

She turned to Troy and reached out a hand to him. Troy couldn't help but obey. She took his hand and put it in Sharpay's. "It is yours to decide. If you think it is a curse, it will plague you all your lives. But if you look deeper you will see it for the gift that it is."

Troy looked to Sharpay from their clasped hands together. He thought about all that they went through and realized that he would not have discovered her if it weren't for everything they've been through. Well perhaps he would have, he thought as he remembered their friendship back in kindergarten. Who knows what journey they would have gone together if she hadn't tossed his Goldie into the pond. He would never know. But it didn't matter now. What matters was the present and what he would make it.

He felt Sharpay's warm hand in his and he thought how right this felt. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring to them, but he was definitely going to find out.

"Thank you Mama Liat," Troy finally said to her. He pressed a kiss on her forehead after Sharpay did as well.

"There is one more thing I ask," Mama Liat said.

"Anything Mama Liat," said Sharpay eagerly.

"Bring me to the lake today, before the sunset."

Troy stared at Sharpay uncertainly. Mama Liat was still very frail. She couldn't possibly make the long climb up that mountain even with help. He eyed his father who was giving them doubtful looks. He had almost forgotten his Dad was there and he wondered what his father made out of what was going on.

"Perhaps when you are better, Mama Liat," Troy told her. "It's a rather difficult climb up and you need rest."

But the old woman shook her head. "It has to be today before sunset," she insisted.

"Why?" asked Sharpay.

"So I can be well again," she said with conviction. "And so will you."

Troy and Sharpay looked at each other. They no longer doubted that Mama Liat had a strange way of knowing things. So even against logic, Troy knew they had to obey her. He turned to his father.

"Dad?" Troy asked the question for his help but he shook his head.

"No," he said definitely.

"Dad, please," Troy begged. "Help us bring her there."

"Are you crazy? She just had a stroke! You can't expect her to climb up there in her condition. Besides this is all insane—"

He stopped and Troy realized why. Mama Liat just got up from the bed and stood up without any hesitation.

"Mama Liat, you shouldn't…" Sharpay began as she tried to push her gently back to the bed, but the old woman resisted her with a strength that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Please, my little Tiki. I have no time and I cannot explain. Before the sun sets!" she said urgently.

Sharpay turned to Troy's father. "Coach, please. I know you probably don't believe us at all, but I need you to help us."

"I… I don't know…" he stuttered. "Anyway, Vance won't let you go out there. You're not supposed to go anywhere."

"Look, Coach, you don't have to go if you want, just don't tell my Dad or anyone else. Please." She approached him. "I know you're not convinced that I'm not whacked in the head but if not me, believe Troy. You know him. He's not insane and he wouldn't lie about this."

Troy shot his father a pleading look and for a long moment Troy was afraid his father would stubbornly put his foot down. His father appeared to search his face and then Sharpay's and finally Mama Liat's.

Finally he heaved a defeated sigh. "Alright, fine. Just let me go out first and check the hall if the coast is clear."

* * *

**A/N: **I know this has been long in coming but I'm really busy and I shouldn't really be writing fanfics right now as I've got work to do. But I had to update at least so you wouldn't think I abandoned this fic completely.

I couldn't help but put in that bit about Narnia. It just fitted so well with this story line and I do love the Chronicles as much as HSM.


	21. Escape

**Chapter Eighteen**

**(2nd Version)**

**Escape**

Jack peered outside door and found the corridor empty. He quietly slipped out and walked the length of the corridor up to the living room. So far, so good, there was not a soul in sight. It was late afternoon and he figured that the staff was at work in the fields while the rest of the guests were resting in their rooms. He slowly made his way back and ignored the logical part of his head that was telling him he was becoming party to the actions of possibly three insane persons. Yet a stronger part of him was willing to believe that they were not insane at all and that he should help them.

Earlier, he refrained from speaking out but made silent observations as Troy and Sharpay talked to the old woman. He did take up a child psychology course in college as part of his special education training. One of the things he learned there was you can know a lot about the mental state of a child by plain observation. To his astonishment, neither Troy nor Sharpay appeared the slightest bit crazy as they related their tale to the old woman. Sure their stories were supernatural but Jack noticed they were consistent. There was not a single bit of detail that was off in the way Sharpay and Troy told their stories to Liat compared to what Troy related to him. If Jack fitted the details with what he knew happened in the last few days while Troy was missing, there was nothing wrong about them. And when the old woman finally spoke about her past—about being a fish before and turning to a human to love her husband—Jack couldn't help but be drawn to her story as well. He was not a sentimental man, but somehow the sadness of her life touched a chord in him and he wanted so much to believe. So when the old woman asked to be taken to the lake, he only managed a slight protest. Something told him that even if this was beyond insane, he should just help them.

Jack quietly slipped back into the room and met three hopeful faces. "It's clear, we can just slip out the front door," he reported. Troy nodded and with Sharpay's help began assisting the older woman as she hobbled along. Amazingly, she was no trouble at all and appeared to keep up. They got out of the front door in no time without anyone seeing. But once there, and Jack had the full view of the vast plantation and the mountain looming so far away, he began to have doubts again.

"Look, I don't think this is such a good idea. It's too far! We can't have her walk all that way across the fields."

"Dad, please," Troy pleaded.

But Sharpay shook her head. "He's right. We need a vehicle, at least something that could get us to the foot of the mountain faster without being seen." She paused to think for a moment and Jack could sense that the wheels in Sharpay's head formulate a quick plan. "I could get us one of the mini service vans. There's bound to be more than one parked in the garage. But I need help to get it."

"What?" Jack asked as he felt her gaze on him. He sensed he wouldn't like this.

"Coach, I don't think the staff will let me have one of the vans alone. I need you to vouch for me."

"What do I tell them?" he asked, confused.

"We'll think of something. Now we have to go. Troy, stay here with Mama Liat, we'll be right back," she said in one breath as she tugged on Jack's arm. Before he could even protest, she was running and he had no choice but to keep running with her. He marveled at her strength and he suddenly thought this girl would have been a gem to have in the girls' basketball team. But then he shook the thought away as he focused on the problem at hand. He was following a possibly crazed girl and it struck him they were going in the wrong direction.

"Where are we going?" he asked. "I thought the garage is nearer if we go by the kitchens."

"It is," replied Sharpay. "But there will too many people there. I want to avoid them as much as possible. The lesser people who know where we're going, the better."

He thought that made sense though he prayed that he wasn't being led on a wild goose chase by this girl.

They reached a large garage that housed several trucks being loaded with crates of pineapple. It was a wide-open space with four posts and a roof. Everything here was chaotic, smelling of sweat, earth and pineapple. Freshly picked fruits in baskets were being inspected and packed by plantation workers then loaded on the trucks as the foreman barked orders. Sharpay paused to duck behind a truck that was already fully loaded to the brim and she dragged Jack with her.

"We have to go through them," she whispered to him. "We need to get to the other side to the minivan garage."

"Why are we whispering?" he asked though he also said it in a whisper. "I can just ask one of them to lead the way to minivan garage. We do need a driver."

But Sharpay shook her head. "I was hoping we could just steal one of the vans."

"What?!" Jack almost shouted incredulously but Sharpay shushed him.

"Too many questions asked. They'll be wondering why you'll need one and with me. As far as they know, I'm going crazy and my Daddy locked me in my room."

"Then why did you bring me?" he asked.

Sharpay blushed. "Well you're my insurance, just in case someone sees me. Besides, the vans are manual. I can only drive an automatic."

Jack didn't know what to think. What had he gotten himself into? "Sharpay, I'm not so sure about this… I mean… stealing a van…"

"Coach, my Daddy owns them. Technically, I'm not stealing it, just borrowing. And it's not like I'm taking it out of the island."

"But… but…" Jack began but Sharpay didn't appear to be listening.

"We need a distraction." Her eyes stared up at the loaded truck full of pineapples. "Help me release this," she pointed to the latch that held the flap of the truck that secured the crates of pineapples. Jack immediately realized what she was on about. If they release it, as soon as the truck rolls out, the crates would fall and cause a commotion. Although he marveled at her ingenuity, he wasn't going to follow this hare-brained scheme to steal a van.

"Sharpay, could we just think about this for a minute!" he said.

Sharpay finally turned back to him with a serious expression. "Coach, I know this is all weird to you and I understand that, but I need you to trust me. I'm not out to hurt anyone, least of all Troy. I love him. And I need this." She gave him a pleading look. "Troy and I need this, please."

That simple declaration about his son struck him. He didn't know if it was her pleading gaze or the way her voice quivered with desperation, but he just knew he had to help her.

"Okay," he nodded. "Let me do it, then." He quickly undid the latch then he pulled Sharpay. They ducked together behind a mountain of empty crates. They watched as the driver got up front. They didn't have to wait long. As soon as the truck moved the crates full of pineapples came tumbling down with an enormous crash. It sent the staff running as the foreman barked angrily at them. Sharpay and Jack used the opportunity to scuttle past the staff undetected.

They reached the second garage that was nearer to the back of the house. The garage was smaller and enclosed with walls where tools and spare parts were set in a somewhat neater order. Three minivans were parked inside

"Keys are in a box on the wall," Sharpay told him. Jack found it immediately. The box was a steel case mounted on one side of the wall next to what appeared to be a large tool closet. But at closer inspection, Jack realized the box was closed and had a combination lock on it.

"Sharpay, do you know the combination?" he asked.

Sharpay paled and shook her head. "I don't! I'm so sorry, I forgot. Only the drivers and foremen have access to it!"

Jack sighed. All that work and for nothing. They would have to go on foot to that mountain. "Well, we'll just have to walk then, let's go—"

He was startled when Sharpay tugged at his arm and pulled him to hide behind one of the mini vans. He didn't have to ask why she did it. He heard voices and footsteps. A moment later he saw Gabriella appear with one of the male staff behind her carrying her suitcase. He watched as the man opened the box and got out a key. He unlocked one of the mini vans and loaded Gabriella's luggage in. Jack thought frantically. This was their chance. Maybe he could talk to the driver and convince him to go with him or at least let him borrow a van. But how could he avoid Gabriella?

"Thank you," Gabriella told the driver politely.

"Will you not be saying goodbye to Mr. Evans?" he asked.

Gabriella shook her head a little forlornly and Jack couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. Just a bit for he was also remembering what Troy told him about her. If he believed what his son said was true, this girl tried to serve Troy to him for dinner. "Could you tell Ryan for me that I'm going?"

"Of course, Miss Montez," the driver said and went back towards the house while Gabriella remained alone.

Jack noticed that the key was still hanging on the door. This was their chance but what do they do about Gabriella. His eyes met Sharpay's and he could tell she was also thinking the same thing. He searched around the garage for some idea and his gaze fell on the tool closet that was hanging slightly open. From his peripheral gaze, he saw the corners of Sharpay's mouth curving into a smile.

"Oh no," he whispered to her.

"Only chance, Coach," she said.

Jack gritted his teeth as he thought of a quick story to say. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. But he got out of his hiding place and faced Gabriella.

"Coach, I didn't see you." Gabriella startled. But she caught herself and turned coldly at him. He expected that reception from her since he didn't support her claim to file charges against the Evans family. She has been bugging him about that since they found Trloy. "So what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Troy."

He ignored the question. "You're leaving?" he asked calmly though he was eyeing the closet behind her.

"Yes. I don't think I want to be somewhere where I'm not wanted," she replied. "I would have left earlier but I just wanted to know how Troy is."

"He's fine," Jack said as he searched for an excuse to let her move backwards. He stepped towards her and was about to put a casual arm around her when her expression changed to anger.

"You!" Gabriella screamed at someone behind him. Jack turned back and saw that Sharpay emerged from her hiding place in full view of them. Jack was confused. What was Sharpay doing? She was supposed to keep out of sight until he got rid of Gabriella. But he saw that Sharpay had gone for the keys and was eyeing him with the same confused expression as he was wearing.

"What is she doing out here?!" Gabriella demanded. "Why isn't she locked up?!"

Jack panicked. If Gabriella screamed any louder, she would alert the staff in the kitchens. He had to do something. "Look Gabriella," he began as he gently tugged at her arm but she didn't budge.

"Coach, what are you doing?" Sharpay hissed in a panicked manner.

"What is going on Coach?" Gabriella demanded.

Jack forced himself to think and calm down. He continued to tug gently at Gabriella's arm. "Look, Gabriella, we need to talk. I-I'll deal with her later. I-I found out something on what she did to Troy," Jack continued rambling. What he said though appeared to work for a smile lit her face and she let herself be led.

"Coach!" Sharpay called sharply again just slightly above a whisper which confused him even more.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked in a rather triumphant manner. And Jack suddenly realized Gabriella thought he was going to rat about something that can hurt Sharpay.

"It's here," he told Gabriella. "Here in the closet."

"What is it?" she repeated as she eagerly went in. Jack saw his chance and quickly slammed the door after her. As soon as he did, Gabriella screamed and banged on the door but Jack held his full weight on it so she couldn't come out.

"What are you doing?!" Sharpay asked in a shocked manner though she was careful to keep her voice low.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm locking her in!" Jack replied in the same half-whispered tone. "Now get me something heavy to put here!"

Sharpay still looked perplexed but managed to find an old rusty spare bumper and pushed it towards the door. After that, Jack helped her to get more heavy items to use as a barricade. Gabriella was banging heavily on the door but it was too secure to let herself out. They both rushed to the minivan and Jack quickly turned on the engine and drove away.

"Why did you go out like that? You nearly blew my cover?" he demanded once they were already safely away from the garage and the girl he just locked up.

"Cover?" she asked incredulously. "What cover? The plan was to grab the keys, get the van and leave her there before she could call for help!"

"Oh…" was all Jack could say. And then: "Y-you weren't planning on locking her up in the closet?"

Sharpay shook her head. "No…" Then her face lit with a big grin. "But your plan was better. You're a genius, Coach!"

_No, I think I've gone insane,_ he told himself as the implications of what he just did began to sink in. _I just locked up my son's ex-girlfriend in a closet, stolen a minivan and now I'm out to pick up an old woman that just woke up from a stroke to take her to the lake because I believe my son's story that he turned into a fish! _

He couldn't dwell on his thoughts though, for they reached the front porch where Troy and the nanny were waiting for them. They got in quickly. Jack was grateful that Sharpay was too busy worrying about Liat to relate the tale to Troy on how he managed to lock Gabriella in the closet. They got to the foot of the mountain in less than five minutes. Jack made sure to park the van where there was a bit of shelter of trees. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the driver found Gabriella locked in the closet and she could tell everyone how he was probably under Sharpay's influence too.

They wasted no time in getting out. Jack could sense the old woman's urgency as he noticed her eyeing the sky so often. The sun was sinking lower and it would be sunset soon. He still had his doubts about all this, but he was in too deep now to complain. So he just let his instincts follow and helped the old woman take the first step up the mountain. However, it took only ten minutes for them to realize that even with Liat's show of strength earlier, she was still too weak and frail to climb the trickier path up the mountain.

"Mama Liat, we have to stop," Sharpay cried. "You can't go on."

"I must," she rasped. "Before sunset, my Tiki. Please. You must do this for me. We have no more time."

Sharpay looked helplessly between him and Troy. Troy looked at him. Jack knew what he had to do but he couldn't help but say to his son: "I've kidnapped an old woman, stolen a van, and I'll probably get sued for locking your girlfriend. So this better not be a joke Troy, or I swear I will kill you for it!"

"Locked my what?" Troy asked in confusion while Sharpay stifled a giggle.

Jack glared at her though he suppressed his own laughter. He didn't know why, but somehow he felt satisfaction on shutting Gabriella in that closet. He grunted angrily to mask his snigger and said. "Go on, help me put her on my back. I'll carry her."

"Thanks Dad," Troy said seriously. "But what do you mean locking my girlfriend?"

"Ask her," Jack hissed at Sharpay.

Sharpay coughed and looked innocent. "Uh… I think I can tell you some other time. We're in a hurry. It's not important anyway." She met his eye and he could see the corners of her mouth form a miniscule smile. He knew she was trying to hold back her laughter. He couldn't help but feel like he was sharing a little secret with her. He decided he liked her as a person. He just hoped she wasn't insane and that he wasn't being crazy either for putting up with her.

With Troy's and Sharpay's help, they managed to put the old woman on his back and he carried her the rest of the way up through the tricky mountain slope. They paused for a moment to breathe when they reached the summit. That was when Troy gave a sharp cry:

"They're coming for us now! They know!"

Jack saw Troy pointing towards the house below. They could see several minivans moving out across the fields while several of the staff appeared to be converging like ants at the front of the porch getting orders. Jack felt his heart pound faster. What would he say to Vance once he found them? He was supposed to be the sane guardian keeping an eye on the kids. Instead, he ended up leading this sort of Mission Impossible to smuggle an old woman to the lake.

He felt Sharpay's hand take his and squeeze it. "Don't worry Coach. If worst comes to worst, I'll take the blame for all of it. You don't have to worry about yourself or Troy. I'll come up with an excuse for you."

But Jack just shook his head. He didn't want her protection. It was odd that she was offering it. She looked so small now, like a frail little girl. He couldn't possibly think of her as crazy at all.

"My little Tiki, we have to go on please," came the wheezing pleading of the old woman. Jack nodded and with Troy's help, he hoisted the woman on his back again and they all jogged down the last few steps down to the lake.

The sky was already purple and orange and light was fading by the time they reached the rocks that surrounded the cool green waters. Mama Liat asked to be put down on the water's edge and Jack gently complied. She sat by one of the boulders and dipped her feet until half her body was submerged in the water. As soon as she did, he noticed something: Fish, dozens, maybe hundreds of fish clustered around her. He thought that was odd when Mama Liat spoke.

"What are they saying?" she asked.

To his surprise Troy emitted some gibberish towards the water much like how Sharpay had done to the fish in her tub days earlier: "Eeeewww… yaoooowww… weeeeeyyyy… oooeeey…" It went on for a moment before Troy spoke clearly: "They're curious to know who you are. They said Fufu sent them messages to meet you."

Then Sharpay began speaking the same gibberish: "Hoooolooolooo… awwww… eeeyyyyyk… yaow…" before reverting to normal language: "Fufu told them that they must welcome you back, from your long journey..."

Jack was confused and frightened. "Sharpay? Troy? What's going on?"

"It's okay, Dad," Troy assured him. "Sharpay and I are talking to the fish for Mama Liat. Here, I'll prove it to you. I'll ask one of the fish to splash you."

"Splash me, what do you—" Jack never got to finish for Troy said something and suddenly a small fish jumped up the water and splashed him directly in the face.

"Sorry, Dad," Troy said apologetically though Jack could tell he was suppressing a laugh. "Kau'i got a bit overexcited."

Jack however, just stared at his son and the cluster of fish. Was Troy and Sharpay really talking to fish right now? He stared back at Sharpay who was still talking gibberish and his gaze shifted from her to Mama Liat. The older woman looked serene as the fish clustered around her. There was something odd about her eyes. Even in the growing dark he noticed they seemed to be fading to white. And her skin, it was glistening like silver. He watched for a moment. Was that just a trick of the light? Why was her skin breaking up like that? It was forming an odd texture, like capiz… no not capiz… scales… yes that was how it looked like. Her skin was breaking out like fish scales!

He was momentarily distracted by Sharpay's expression. Her voice still speaking that gibberish that was so calm before hitched in sudden panic and Troy was looking confused and frightened as well.

"Mama Liat, they said Fufu called them to honor you before… before you go with him. I-I don't understand…" Sharpay gasped. She turned fully to the old woman who looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"Mama Liat? What's going on? What's happening to you?" Sharpay repeated. "It's almost sunset. Why did you ask to be brought here? Why are they saying Fufu's taking you?" Her voice was choked and Jack could tell Sharpay was close to crying.

Mama Liat held her hand out to Sharpay and the younger girl took it. Her grip slipped momentarily. Jack realized Sharpay was startled to feel her scaly skin. But Sharpay didn't shrink. She took her nanny's hand again and this time she clasped it tightly with both hands.

"I'm sorry my little Tiki, but my time is up and I must leave you now."

"B-but…" Sharpay gasped. "You said you'll be alright! You said if I get you to the lake before sunset, you'll be alright and Troy and I will be too!"

"And you will be, my little one," replied the older woman calmly. Jack suddenly noticed her eyes were now glassy and her skin was now completely covered in scales. Jack just gaped in fascination as he realized he was witnessing something that wasn't normal.

"THERE THEY ARE!

Jack startled at Vance's voice. He looked up to see Vance and Ryan leading several people down the slope towards them. There were several members of the staff carrying emergency lamps to light their path. Jack saw Chad, Jason, Zeke, Taylor, Kelsi and a furious looking Gabriella trailing behind.

Suddenly everyone was shouting so loudly at the same time. But he managed to hear a few notable outbursts:

"Jack, what the hell is going? I leave you on their watch and you took off with them!" shouted Vance.

"You brought Mama Liat all the way here!" Ryan cried furiously. "She just got out of a stroke and you made her climb a mountain!"

"I told you, she's done something to them!" shouted Gabriella. "Coach Bolton locked me up in that closet. I bet Sharpay's done something to him too!"

They charged forward in an attempt to get at Sharpay and Jack instinctively blocked their path. He couldn't understand what was going on but he knew he had to keep the angry mob away from them as long as possible. And he needed them to keep quiet.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Jack screamed so hard it seemed to echo all over the mountain. It worked for the lake suddenly quieted down and the only thing he could hear were Sharpay's hysterical sobs.

"No! No! No! You said you're going to be alright, Mama Liat, don't go!" Jack turned back to Sharpay. She let go of her nanny's hand for now there was no more hand to hold on to. It was now just a small misshapen thing that was slowly shrinking.

"It is my time now my little Tiki. I have done all that I could and I am happy to rejoin my Palani." She used what used to be her other hand to touch Sharpay's cheek lovingly but Jack could see that it looked more like a fin now. "Be happy with your young man, and remember to see your gifts for the blessings that they are…"

"I will, I will, Mama Liat," Sharpay cried as Troy held her by the shoulders. But the older woman spoke no more. Someone held up a flashlight so Jack could still see her form even in the semi-darkness. And to Jack's horror, he saw that the woman's form was disintegrating. Her face was changing, shrinking into a grotesque shape as it pulled back from a round face. It began to flatten ever so quickly. And then her body was changing too, shrinking into something long and thin. Her clothes fell into the water and floated away and all that was left was this long thing full of scales. Finally, the changing stopped and Jack realized he was looking at a fish.

For a long time, Jack was frozen and just stared at it, hardly believing what he was seeing. And then it clicked on him. It was all true! Everything Troy and Sharpay said was true. Liat was indeed a fish and if so Troy had become one too. They never lied at all and his instincts to believe them were right!

He looked up at Sharpay. She was sobbing quietly and Troy had his arms around her in a tight embrace. He too had tears in his eyes as he pressed his cheek against hers.

Jack felt a shadow above him and he saw from the corner of his eye Ryan approach and touch the fish gently with his fingertips.

"Mama Liat?" he whispered in a choked voice at his sister. Sharpay just nodded and Ryan responded with a guttural cry. He clasped his sister's hand with his and gasped over and over again: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

His cry broke the silence and suddenly there were voices all around talking in fright. Jack heard several footsteps clambering up the slopes and he looked up to see everyone but Vance Evans scampering up the mountain slope in fear. He just stood there and watched with tears in his eyes as his children sobbed together over their dead nanny.

Finally, Sharpay pulled away from Troy's embrace. She gently lifted Mama Liat's fish body. She kissed it before gently lowering it into the water where it floated away. Jack watched it until it disappeared from sight. He turned back to see Vance crouching in front of Sharpay in a penitent manner. But she walked up to him and accepted his embrace.

Jack realized he had been standing awkwardly for a long time. He slowly walked up to Troy who remained seated on a boulder, half submerged in water. He was talking to the fish in that gibberish language.

"The fish say she's going to join the spirit of Fufu now," Troy told him. "But she'll be with her husband too."

"I'm glad," Jack said tentatively. He was suddenly embarrassed around his son for not fully believing him. "Look Troy, I'm sorry I didn't—"

"Shhh," Troy shushed. "You helped us and you believed us and that's enough. Thank you, Dad."

Jack didn't say anything anymore. He knew he didn't have to. The Evanses were having their silent reconciliation of sorts a few feet away. He knew they would be alright now. Everything would be alright.

_**A/N:**__ I hope this chapter didn't make you too sad. I'm sorry but I really intended for Mama Liat to die in the end in both versions. I decided that doing this in Jack's point of view would be more fun to write and a lot easier too because he's sort of an outsider to Sharpay and Troy's fish world. His perspective is richer and a bit more emotionally detached. _

_This is almost done. I'm not sure if I want to add one more chapter in Sharpay's POV because I think the epilogue in Troy's POV would be sufficient for this story but I'll mull it over and give it some thought. Either way, this will be done before HSM 3 comes out and gives us new canon material to work with. I want to thank everyone who stuck to this story and was patient enough to wait while I was busy._


	22. When Magic Begins

(2nd Version)

**Chapter Nineteen**

**(2****nd**** Version)**

**When Magic Begins**

Her head broke through the surface and rose above the waves. She flung her wet hair behind her and let it trail down her bare back as she inhaled deeply the crisp morning sea air. She could see the sun rising in the horizon above the water's edge. But when she turned around to the west, the full moon still appeared though it was quickly sinking behind the jagged edges of Mt. Fufu. She stared at the moon for a long moment until it completely vanished from sight. She felt a twinge of hurt when it disappeared.

_Tomorrow night the moon would no longer be full,_ she thought_. Another moon cycle ends again. What magic ended with this fading of the full moon? _

It was on a day like this that Mama Liat was taken away from her forever. Two moon cycles ago to be exact. _How fast the moon dies to daylight, how fast the magic fades._

But even as she remembered it, she felt the warmth of the suns rays kissing her tanned skin. _A reminder,_ she thought as she corrected herself: _What I should be thinking is what magic begins with a new phase of the moon or the coming of sunrise. _

She closed her eyes to savor the growing warmth on her skin, on her hair, on her entire body. And when she opened them she saw a figure walking alone on sandy shore in the distance. Happiness flooded her heart as she recognized who it was.

_And here the magic comes again. He returns._

She dove into the water and swam quickly towards shore. The waves pushed her forward faster that in just a few moments she felt the bottom sand on her toes. She pulled herself out of the water just as he ran towards her.

They met as a foamy wave crashed against their ankles. His hands grasped her waist and he lifted her high in the air before playfully spinning her. She laughed as she reveled in the feeling of flying in his arms. Slowly, he put her down and pulled her to a hug. She rested her cheek against his as her arms grasped his neck.

"I missed you," she whispered to him before she could stop herself.

He pulled his head away and she was suddenly afraid he wouldn't return the sentiment. But he didn't part from her completely. Instead he cupped her chin to gaze at her. "I missed you too. I wanted to come back sooner, but the scholarship papers had to be finalized."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I thought we'd just meet in New York next week."

"I wanted to surprise you. And I'm glad I did. Watching you coming out of the sea like a siren was certainly worth it."

She felt her face grow suddenly warm at that flirtatious remark. He never made comments like that with her before and she knew it was a good sign. She pulled away from him completely to hide her blush. She felt his eyes on her as he took in her body and the pink and white polka dotted bikini and top that were the only pieces of clothing that covered her. She was glad she decided to wear that this morning.

"When did you arrive?" she asked coolly. She didn't want him to know how his gaze affected her.

"A few minutes ago," he replied without taking his eyes off her. "I went straight out here as soon as I got off the van."

She smiled inwardly to herself at the indication that he sought her out first. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I had a hunch," he replied before he led her to a walk. "So how are you?" he asked, seriously. The mood was gone, she knew and she gave a deep sigh.

"I'm okay, Troy. I miss Mama Liat but I know she's happy now. I visit all the fish everyday and they comfort me. Ryan goes with me too and sometimes Daddy and Mother tag along and I introduce them to all our friends. They're all okay with that. But I go swimming in the ocean once in a while if I want to be alone. How about you?"

"I'm alright too. I go to the city aquarium every now and then and I've made friends with some of the fish there when I get lonesome." He paused as a sad smile etched his face. He told her when he last called last week that he hadn't been talking to any of his friends since he got back to the mainland. "It's not like anyone else can relate to my abilities. But at least my parents believe me and support me. They even offered to get me an aquarium full of fish so I could have someone to talk to at home."

Sharpay was suddenly alarmed. "Oh Troy, you didn't?!"

He shook his head. "Of course not. I know that the fish just like all other creatures should be placed in their natural habitat or at least in a place big enough for them to roam freely. The city aquarium's not bad since their tanks are always big enough for them to move and they're all well cared for. The fish there told me so."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah, me too. But it's been a pretty lonely summer for me mostly," he said sadly. "I haven't had anyone to talk to or hang out with."

Sharpay understood what he meant and she wondered if Troy losing "his friends" was part of his curse. She no longer considered them her friends since none of them ever took the time to apologize to her after they witnessed Mama Liat transform into a fish. In fact none of them talked to her at all. By the time she, Ryan, her Dad, Troy and Coach Bolton returned to the house from the hill that night, every single one of her so-called guests were packed and were waiting for the minivans to take them to the chopper off the island. Sharpay understood they were frightened by what they saw but the least they could do was acknowledge they were wrong. Instead, they shied away from her and Troy like they had some kind of infectious disease and scampered into the vans as soon as they pulled up into the driveway. Sharpay didn't really mind if she never saw the whole lot of them again but she knew Troy cared for his friends and it must have been hard for him that they were treating him like a monster.

Troy and Coach Bolton stayed a day longer in the island after the rest of the guests departed. However, they left to go back to the mainland to assure Troy's mother he was okay and to finalize the requirements for Troy's college scholarship. Sharpay hadn't seen him since then. He called her a few times but their conversations hadn't been very long or thorough as she sensed Troy didn't feel like making more than small talk on the phone. She didn't feel like relating her feelings either on the phone so she was glad that Troy was here now.

"So they're still avoiding you?" she asked.

"Not anymore. I forced them to talk to me."

"How? You barged into their houses one by one?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I got them all in one go. I cornered them after therapy session."

Sharpay was confused. "After what?"

Troy gave a bit of a snigger. "I know, it's funny, they all ended up seeing a psychiatrist. I can't believe that I'm the one who became a fish and almost died several times and yet they're the ones who are haunted by the experience."

"They're in therapy for that?" Sharpay asked incredulously.

"Yeah, you know parents. You see I've been trying to get in touch with all of them for weeks but they refused to see me or answer the phone. I ended up talking to all of their parents every time they make excuses not to talk to me. I told their families I don't know what I did to make me persona non grata all of a sudden. So I played my cards well and I got the parents to do the interrogation for me. Finally, one by one they cracked and started telling their parents the truth. There was much drama and finally the parents got together, compared notes and decided group therapy was in order."

"So their parents all sent them to therapy?" Sharpay laughed. She could hardly believe how the tables turned. "Well at least they finally know how it feels to talk to a psychiatrist and be thought of as insane."

"Well actually the therapist ruled that they conceived a group fantasy based on superstitious beliefs—don't laugh," he said as Sharpay began having a fit of giggles. "That was the actual diagnosis. I cornered them after one of sessions and they did put some resistance to talk to me, but they finally did. They all apologized for not believing you and asked me to intervene and tell the truth to their psychiatrist."

"And did you?" asked Sharpay.

Troy gave a sly smile. "Nope, I didn't tell the psychiatrist anything. I think they deserved a few more sessions before college starts. I'll let them figure it out how to get out of their own mess for a change. Besides, I don't fancy joining them in therapy either."

Sharpay stared at him in surprise. "Why Mr. Bolton, I didn't think you had a mean streak in you!"

"Well maybe if they hadn't avoided me for weeks and didn't treat me like I'm out to eat them alive I would have helped bail them out. Well, except for Gabriella, I did put in a good word for her."

Sharpay grew serious at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "Why?" she asked steadily.

"Well I think she got the worst of it. The psychiatrist is quite convinced that Gabriella's somehow behind their bad experience as everyone's angry at her. My parents even. I'm sure they would like to sue her for attempting to murder me but they can't exactly prove that I turned into a fish. But I didn't want the psychiatrist thinking she did something bad to everyone that could get her into trouble so I vouched for her and said she was harmless. Besides, she did apologize first for hurting me. In the end, I decided to forgive her and we're okay now. At least, I think I'm in better terms with her than the rest of them."

"Oh," was all Sharpay could say. Did this mean Troy was reconsidering his relationship with Gabriella? He did say he wanted the chance to get to know Sharpay but who knows if he changed his mind.

Sharpay waited for Troy to say something but he was suddenly silent. He stopped walking and she realized where they were. They were standing near the cave where Troy found her on the morning before he transformed into a fish. He was staring at the mouth of the cave thoughtfully.

His silence was killing her, so she finally asked: "What are you thinking about?"

"The last time I was here, I thought you were dead. It was one of the scariest moments of my life."

"Third after being chased by carnivorous fish and being cooked for dinner?" she asked lightly to relieve the tension.

His lips formed a small smile. "Yeah, that too." She felt his fingers thread through hers to clasp her hand. "And you were the one that saved me in both times."

"Well I couldn't just leave you alone and be eaten, you know. After all it was my fault, I made the wish and—"

He put a finger to her lips to stop her from speaking though he need not have bothered. The intensity of his blue eyes that etched affection for her did the job already. She knew the answer to her unasked question.

"Thank you for making that wish," he said before pulling her to him.

She felt the rising sun's warmth envelope them and she knew that magic was beginning again at this moment.

_**A/N: **__I know this is short but it's just to give you an idea of what happened afterwards. The last chapter is the epilogue and I've already written it so you can expect it to be uploaded by the end of the week when I finish editing. Then it's over (sigh!). _

Don't worry I'll try to come up with other HSM stories for you to enjoy. I already have some plot bunnies bouncing around but I want to wait until HSM 3 comes out so I can incorporate new canon material. I might even be able to use those Elle pics again for inspiration.


	23. Epilogue 2nd version

**Epilogue**

**(2****nd**** version)**

Troy carefully treaded past the slippery step before turning around to offer a hand to the little boy behind him. But the boy shook his head defiantly.

"I can do it, Dad," he grumbled. And as if to show off his skill, he raced up the tricky steps and up to top of the hill in under two seconds. He turned back to gloat proudly at Troy. "See, I told you I could do it. See you down at the lake." He shot off out of Troy's view towards the familiar path downhill towards the lake.

"James, get back here!" Troy shouted after him as he hurried to climb the last few steps as fast as he could with the precious weight he was carrying at his hip. But the boy ignored his father and carried on downhill. Troy looked helplessly at the woman behind him.

"Sharpay?" he complained for intervention but she merely shook her head.

"Let him," she said calmly. "He knows his way."

"He could slip on those rocks!" Troy argued.

"Then we pick him up, bandage him and give him a good talking to," replied Sharpay.

Troy raised an eyebrow at her and was about to retort something when Sharpay beat him to it. "He's a big boy Troy, he can handle himself."

"He's five years old!"

"Correction, he's a five-year-old with my blood running in him. He'll be fine. He knows his way around here. He's been coming here since he was two."

Troy gave her an appalled look before turning his attention back to his son. Troy watched in horror as the little blonde tyke skipped the last few steps down the hill, past the large rocks and didn't hesitate to jump into the water.

"James!" Troy gave one last futile cry before his heart stopped completely. It only resumed beating when his son's head bobbled up the water's surface. He turned to Sharpay. "I swear your son will be the death of me someday!"

"Yes and it's always only 'my son' you'll blame," Sharpay sniped back at him before she began her descent down the hill to follow the little boy.

Troy just rolled his eyes at her and followed at her heels at a more careful pace. Whenever little James misbehaved, Troy had a habit of referring to him as "Sharpay's son." He seemed to be more Sharpay's son than his. Everything from the golden blonde locks on the little boy's head to the calculating, unruly personality he had inside was all Sharpay's. The only things Troy can claim that James got from him are the blue eyes.

Sharpay reached the edge of the lake but didn't dive immediately. She sat down at one of the rocks and watched James as he began doing one of Sharpay's weird vocal exercises in the water. She soon joined him and mother and son began a duet of "Mah! Mah! Mah!"

Troy just shook his head at them. His son most likely was going to end up a drama king and not an athlete like he wanted. He attempted to teach James to play basketball but so far the little boy was more interested in using it as a prop for his own invented dance routines than shoot it in the basket.

"You're my only hope," Troy whispered to the little pink buddle that was strapped to his chest. The two-year-old gurgled and turned her big blue eyes towards him. Troy kissed the top of her head, which was now growing an evident shade of dirty blonde. It was a source of comfort to Troy that this baby looked exactly like him. In fact Troy liked to think of her as a female version of him in diapers. "You're going to be just like Daddy, aren't you, princess?" he said as he continued his slow descent down the hill.

"Hurry up, Troy!" Sharpay called impatiently to him in between vocal exercises.

"Your mommy's so demanding," Troy complained to the baby. "But I've got you on my side."

To his surprise, however, the fruit of Sharpay's womb defiantly kicked his stomach before she uttered a singular: "Mah!"

"Traitor," Troy muttered to his daughter.

"TROY!" Sharpay hollered again.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he shouted back as he picked up the pace down the mountain. "Next time, you bring the baby," he told her when he finally reached the edge of the lake.

"Well next time we'll make her climb herself. I bet she can get here faster than you," Sharpay sniped before turning away to talk to some fish that just arrived.

Troy was out of comebacks and decided to keep his mouth shut. Years of being with Sharpay taught him that she can argue for all eternity and never let him have the last word.

He gently put his daughter in the water. Once she was in it, she eagerly began floating and splashing as if it was second nature to her. Troy knew she would do that. Babies under-two usually have the natural ability to swim. It happened to James too when he was that age. Troy would just have to be sure to give his daughter swimming lessons later so she could retain the ability. Right now, he was content to let her float around.

He felt a movement near him and wasn't surprised to see Mano and Kau'i followed by several little fish.

_"Hey Troy!_" Kau'i called out.

_"Hi Kau'i, Mano! We're back for the summer again. You seem to have a new brood here. Are you two mating now?"_

_"Yes. Kau'i here is a nice female. Very fruitful, as you can see,"_ said Mano proudly before he started introducing his fingerlings one by one.

Troy could only nod. He still wasn't used to the way the fish could weigh each other's worth based on how many offspring they can produce.

_"This is my daughter, Lucy,"_ Troy said when the long introductions were over. He put his baby near his fish friends and the fingerlings swam away and hid behind their parents in fright.

_"Can she understand us Troy?"_ Kau'i asked.

_"No,"_ replied Troy. _"I don't think so. It's the same with James. I think Fufu only granted the fish talk ability to Sharpay and I. But we promise to teach our children to love fish so they can still look after your descendants in the future. James already loves the family._" He nodded to his son who appeared to be quite at home being surrounded by the school of fish that tickled him. Most of the fish were already familiar with James from the past summers they brought him to the lake. They no longer consider him as a threat even if he couldn't talk to them. Kau'i began to lead her fingerlings to get acquainted with Lucy. The baby was a bit wary at first but with Troy's coaxing for a few minutes, she learned to let the fish touch her gently.

While Kau'i and her babies were having fun with Lucy, Mano sidled up to Troy.

_"So how many offspring do you have now, Troy? When are you bringing the rest?"_

_"Oh Lucy and James are the only children I have,"_ Troy replied and was rather amused by the sputter of astonishment from Mano.

_"Only two? But it's been so long. Shouldn't you have a few hundred by now at least?"_

_"No," _Troy shook his head. _"We humans don't produce as much as fish do."_

_"But only two?" _the fish continued in disbelief. _"But you will have more, right?"_

Troy shook his head again sadly. _"I'm afraid not. Sharpay can't bear anymore. After Lucy, it's just too dangerous. She can lose her life if we tried to have more children."_

Troy recalled how Lucy's birth nearly killed Sharpay. She had serious birth complications that Troy thought he was going to lose her. He never felt more devastated on those critical moments when the doctors raced to save her. She managed to pull through in the end but the doctors warned them that she couldn't have another baby. He didn't really mind. Two was enough for him. The important thing was he had his wife alive and well.

_"Tsk, tsk,_" Mano clucked._ "You poor, poor creatures. It must be the curse from your wish."_

Troy just gave the fish an amused nod. Yes, it might have been the curse. But he could no longer tell. There were days when he felt he was cursed. Sharpay wasn't exactly the easiest person to live with. She was demanding, vain, sarcastic and egotistical. Sometimes he felt like a hen-pecked husband. But on most days she was considerate, loving and sweet. Their lives weren't perfect. Their relationship certainly wasn't. They had their rough times. They broke up twice while they were still dating and he had other girlfriends in between. And even after they were married they had their differences. He almost filed for divorce once when James was two. But through all their troubles, they somehow managed to come back to each other stronger and deeply in love. If he added up all the good things and bad things and compared them, the good always outweighed the bad. He knew he could never love any woman like he loved her. No one could make him happy like she did.

He turned to see Sharpay approach and she called out to Lucy. He watched fondly as his baby girl eagerly swam towards her mother's waiting arms before he remembered his other child.

"Where's James?" he asked Sharpay.

"Out there swimming," she replied nonchalantly as she picked Lucy out of the water then began cooing affectionately at her.

"You let our five-year-old go swimming alone in the lake?!" Troy exclaimed.

"Relax Troy," Sharpay said calmly in-between coos to the baby. "I asked the fish to look after him. He'll be fine."

"But he could get hurt," Troy argued.

Sharpay gave him a condescending look. "Have a little faith in your son. He knows the lake. He's been here since he was two. How old do you think I was swimming here alone? Besides what danger could he possibly get into?"

Troy had to concede to her wisdom this time. Anyway as long as the fish looked out for him, James was more or less safe.

"Fine," said Troy. "But if he's not back in fifteen minutes, I'm looking."

"Alright," Sharpay said irritably. But she leaned in and kissed him briefly on the lips. "You worry too much."

"That's because I love you."

"I love you too," she replied before bringing her lips to his again this time for a full kiss. He kissed her back while his hand grasped her waist and caressed her bare back. He would have continued further but Sharpay pulled away. He remembered that Lucy was still on her hip supported by her one arm and she was demanding to be put back into the water.

"We'll continue this later," Sharpay promised. It gave a tingle of excitement through him. She put Lucy back in the water and let her float to her heart's content.

_"Troy! Troy! Sharpay!"_ a frantic voice shouted and Troy immediately recognized Nahoa.

_"What is it?_" Troy asked.

_"It's James!"_

Troy felt his heart plunge and he could see from Sharpay's face that she was equally frantic

_"We tried to warn him, but you know he doesn't understand us,_" said Nahoa.

_"Warned him about what?! Where is he?!" _Sharpay shrieked. She picked Lucy from the water and clutched her to her chest. The baby wailed in protest but neither Sharpay nor Troy paid heed. They were both focused on Nahoa.

_"We couldn't stop him Sharpay, I'm sorry!"_ the fish exclaimed.

Troy feared the worst and was about to dive down and search for his son in the dark waters when he saw James' head rise from the water in a distance. Sharpay handed Lucy to Troy and swam as fast as she could to towards their son. When she got to him, she enveloped him in a hug before bursting into hysterical tears while inspecting him for signs of injury.

Troy slowly made his way to his wife and son with Lucy clutched tightly to his arms.

"James, are you hurt? What happened?"

His son shook his head and Troy couldn't find anything wrong with him. He was busy pushing his mother away who was now raining kisses on his blonde head.

"I'm fine Mommy, I'm okay," he said when he finally freed himself from her caress.

The sound of James' voice was enough to calm Troy down.

"What happened James?" Troy repeated. "Where did you go?"

"I was just exploring the lake with the fish. I found something interesting that you've got to see…" He gave a long pause for dramatic effect.

"What?!" Both Troy and Sharpay demanded impatiently.

Their son lit up in an excited manner then declared: "I found a cave!"

Troy and Sharpay stared at each other and turned pale in unison.

**End**

_**A/N: **__ Yipee! Another fic completed for me! I want to thank all of you who supported this story until the end. We can all look forward to seeing HSM 3 and new canon. So far the trailer and the little previews they've been showing are looking pretty good. I'm already starting to get inspired by some of those scenes particularly with Sharpay in that hot Chicago-inspired costume. If I get some time to write in between work and finishing my Narnian fic I'll probably do a few a one-shot or two otherwise I want to wait until the new movie comes out before I launch another multi-chaptered fic. _

_Again thanks to all your fabulous reviews and to all you readers who kept on reading this and kept pestering me to update when I went on hiatus with this story. _


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